


Stray Dogs

by Seeingredfics



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, homesless!richie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-01-06 12:57:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12211734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seeingredfics/pseuds/Seeingredfics
Summary: Being a severe hypochondriac with an ADHD ridden homeless kid sleeping in your basement can do some serious damage, as Eddie Kaspbrak was about to find out.





	1. The Gas Station

It was like he was actually there, feeling the soft, cold water wash over his feet and up around his ankles, splashing at where he had turned up the bottom of his jeans. The water was good, he thought, as he opened his eyes and looked out at the ocean. 

The thing that never stopped. 

He took in the completely empty beach, and wondered why he was the only one there. Maybe because it was high tide, he thought to himself, and glanced over his shoulder at the pier behind him. He didn’t know where he was in the world, it didn’t look familiar. Maybe he wasn’t even in America. England? Spain, perhaps? He wasn’t too sure, but that didn’t matter. 

He turned back to the sea and closed his eyes and held out his arms. He stretched, feeling his muscles sigh in relief and his entire body relax as the salty air enveloped him completely. He breathed in, the smell of the ocean; allowing it to fill him up and make him feel like he was floating. This was beautiful, Richie thought, this was heaven. This was life. This was-

“Tozier, wake up!” Richie blinked and groaned, turning in his seat to come face to face with Wes Ryder. He grimaced. The kid hadn’t been blessed with good lucks unfortunately; eyes too big for his face and an underbite that made him constantly looked pissed off.

Somewhere from the back of the bus, Richie could hear shouting and shoving, meaning the other boys were awake too. Scott and Max, the idiots of their little group, were always arguing, or ‘debating’ as Max called it. Richie once saw Scott knock Max’s front tooth out because he stole a few slice of his pizza. That wasn’t debating, that was unnerving. 

“Come on. Shake a leg.” Wes said, standing from where he had been crouched down beside Richie, and taking back his usual spot behind the wheel of the van. Richie grunted and sat up straight in his seat, squinting out through the window and into the warm afternoon outside. The sun had only just begun to set, and the world was covered in hues of orange and yellow, and Richie felt like he was the farthest he could possibly be from a beach. 

“Where are we going?” Richie asked as Wes spat out of the window. 

“Pit stop. Need gas and supplies.” Wes said bluntly, not that there was anything unusual about that. Wes just didn’t care if he sounded rude, he never had. The first time Richie ever met him was the rudest encounter he had with him, yet here he was, four months later, still following him around like a stray. “You get the food.”

“Can’t they get it?” Richie asked tiredly, pointing to the back of the bus where the other two were still trying to kill one another. “I got food last time-”

“The last time those knuckle heads tried to get us food, we were nearly shot.” Wes pointed out. He turned around in his seat and glared at Richie harshly. “Do as I say, alright Rich?”

“Jolly good, your highness! I shall do as you so desire.” Richie joked, putting on that god awful British accent he knew pissed Wes off to no end, and unbuckled himself from the seat before throwing open the side door to the van. He heard Wes mutter something under his breath, probably about his smart ass mouth, but he ignored it, and slammed the door shut. 

It wasn’t cold outside, it was mid August, yet Richie still stuffed his shaking hands into the pockets of his oversized denim jacket; the one he had stolen 3 years ago from some uptight shop in some deadbeat town, that was now littered with holes and had loose threads hanging off every edge. It was the one thing he kept, that and his old, navy baseball cap, that was stuffed in his back pocket. 

Some things never changed.

The gas station was tiny, it was in the middle of nowhere however, so Richie was just glad to finally see a fresh face; even if said fresh face was a pimply teenage boy who looked like he’d smoked his body weight in weed. Richie modded at him, not getting even a blink in return, and casually strolled down each isle, scanning the shelves filled with chips, chocolate bars, candy and drinks. Nothing immediately caught his eye, but then he realised something.

He was broke. He was homeless. He literally couldn’t afford to be picky. 

So he grabbed the largest bag of chips he could, along with six candy bars and a small bag of sour sweets, and stuffed them under his jacket. The teenager behind the counter was looking down at something, and Richie assumed it was his phone, so he quickly wandered to the drinks shelf and grabbed a handful of cokes before turning to pick up another bag of chips, just to push himself, before he heard the roar of an engine. His head snapped round to see the van pulling out of the gas station.

“Hey!” He yelled, and clutched the food to his chest before sprinting out of the store, the alarm screaming out the second he passed through the sliding door. The teenager nearly jumped out of his skin, and dropped his phone onto the floor in the process, only just catching the top of Richie’s black, curly hair running past the window. 

“Wes!” Richie screamed, waving his free arm holding the drinks and ignoring that they crashed to the ground at his feet. “Wes!” The van was already half way back down the road by the time Richie sprinted past the gas station, and he stopped, out of breath, and watched the van hurtle off into the distance, taking everything he had, and the people he once considered his friends, with it. Richie stood there for a long time, before he dropped everything he was carrying, grabbed a rock off the ground and hurled it at the van, knowing that it wouldn’t even come close to hitting it. 

“BASTARDS!” He screamed, throwing his arms up in frustration and pulling at his hair. “Fuck!” He swore, turning around as some cars whizzed past him, staring at the grubby looking teenager on the side of the road surrounded by food. Richie tried to steady his breathing, but then he started hearing the alarm going off at the gas station, and he spun around. The teenager had run outside and was looking down the opposite end of the road, searching for him, before turning his head in Richie’s direction and freezing.

“Hey, you!” He shouted, his voice distant as a strong breeze rolled in. “Get the fuck back here!” Richie’s eyes widened, and he started clawing at the food and bottles of coke that he had dropped, stuffing them under his jacket and bolting across the road as a the teenager made a beeline for him. Richie heard the car horns coming from both directions but he sprinted across the road anyway, not looking in any direction but forward, wanting to head into the forest and out of sight before he got arrested.

He couldn’t have that happen again.

Richie hopped off the metal barrier that ran all the way across the highway, and stumbled into the cluster of trees at the edge of the forest. He could hear the cashier not too far behind him, so he picked up the pace as best he could, ignoring his burning lungs and shaking legs. His heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest by the time he finally found a large enough tree trunk to hide behind, pressing his back up against the bark and squeezing his eyes shut. He heard the cashier somewhere in the distance pause, as if trying to hear Richie’s footsteps again. There were a few muffled curse words, before the defeated, heavy footsteps went back in the direction they had come, leaving Richie to let out a long sigh of relief. 

In the long minutes he had to himself before he heard the kids playing, he thought about the reality of him being abandoned, again. He kicked a stone across the forest floor in frustration and hung his head. Why did Wes leave? Surely he hadn’t been that annoying? Compared to the other people he had hitchhiked with, he had been pretty well behaved. Well behaved for Richie Tozier at least. Richie wondered why they had only just now decided to leave him, forcing him to get food before driving off. At least they allowed him to get food before they fucked off; maybe Wesley did have a heart after all. Then Richie contemplated the idea that maybe they told him to get food at that gas station purposefully, maybe they wanted him to get arrested. Richie scowled. Fuck heads, he thought, and then his ears perked up at the sound of far off laughter. He paused, not quite sure if he actually heard anything, before he heard it again. Kids, laughing. That was something he hadn’t heard in a long time. 

Richie kept his food and drinks close, stepping over twigs and leaves and branches on the forest floor as he followed the sound. It didn’t take long, surprisingly, before he came to the edge of a steep hill overlooking a long river that went under a bridge, past a sewer drain, and off through a small town. Richie frowned. He hadn’t expected to find anything this close to the highway, but there it was, a whole town. Footsteps and voices made him duck down behind a bush, and he noticed some figures moving about near the sewer drain.  
He hid his belongings under some leaves before creeping round towards the bridge, wanting to get a better look, and leaned against one of the wooden posts and peeking through the slats in the bridge. He saw a group of kids around his age wandering towards a smaller clearing near the sewer, dragging their bikes with them. There were five boys, all of different sizes, and one girl with fiery red hair that was a similar length to Richie’s. He blinked in amazement as he watched them crack jokes and laugh together, wondering what that was like; to actually be a kid. 

Their voices started to become clearer as they got closer and closer to Richie’s hiding spot, and he crouched down lower as they all rested their bikes near the sewer and moved over to a pile of rocks that had been placed next to the river. It looked like a dam, a very small, unconstructed one, but a dam none the less, and he watched them all started to pick rocks up and place them alongside each other in the river. Richie felt himself smile slightly at the sight. They were so carefree down there, it seemed almost foreign to him. 

He took in each of the kids appearances, staring at the girl first. She was pretty, really pretty, and he could see the sparkle in her bright blue eyes even from this far away. She was wearing a maroon blouse and some brown overalls, some worn out white sneakers on her feet that were now being covered over by water in the river. She was standing next to a short, chubby boy, who was looking at her with a huge grin on his face as they chatted. He had dirty blonde hair and rosy cheeks, and he was already half soaked from the river just by standing ankle deep in it. Every time he took a step he made the water splash up around his thighs and waist, coating him. Richie chuckled. 

There were two tall, skinny boys standing side by side on the river bank, handing rocks over to the boy and the girl respectively, both wearing brown, khaki shorts and red sneakers. One, the tallest out of the two, had short curly hair and was wearing a smart, white polo shirt with buttons done up to the top. He had a small notebook sticking out his back pocket and a small smile on his face. The other wore a long, red checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and Richie could just make out a stutter from his voice as he spoke loudly to the others.

“M-mo-move that rock over there, no, not that one Mike, this one.” He pointed to a tall boy with dark skin and dark eyes, who nodded and did as he was told, chucking the rock he had over his shoulder without a care in the world, causing a large splash. 

“What the fuck, Mike?” A squeaky voice called out from behind him. Mike, Richie now knew him as, turned and shifted his body slightly, giving Richie a chance to see the sixth member of their little group. He was the shortest of the bunch, wearing tiny red running shorts and a bright yellow shirt that made Richie’s eyes hurt. He had a black fanny pack strapped to his right hip and a scowl on his little, tanned face that made Richie snort. He glared at the others as they laughed at him, seeing as he was now nearly covered head to toe in water, but eventually the kid moved away from the others and onto the river bank, perching on a rock and shaking out his no longer neatly styled hair. 

“Cute.” Richie muttered to himself, before deciding to leave the kids alone, not wanting to watch them do the same thing, building this stupid dam, forever. He took a step back, only to accidentally snap a twig in the process, and he instantly threw himself to the ground as he noticed the girl raise her head in his direction.

On the ground, Beverly Marsh frowned, staring up at the bridge in confusion. 

“Bev? You okay?” Ben asked, noticing her stop building first out of everyone, just like always. Beverly didn’t reply at first, she just kept staring. She could have sworn she saw something move up there, just between the slats, but she couldn’t be sure. It looked like hair, dark hair, and it had moved past the side of the bridge before she could get a proper look. She squinted her eyes and stepped forward, wanting to get a closer look. “Bev?”

Ben’s voice brought her back to reality, and she blinked at him.

“Sorry, thought I saw something.” She said, smiling at him. He instantly smiled back.

“Maybe it was a bird.” Stan suggested. “There’s lots of black birds and sparrows out at the moment.”

“Could be Bowers.” Eddie suggested from where he was sat on his rock, and he nervously glanced at the bridge too. “He’s always lurking round the kissing bridge.”

“Creeps, the lot of them.” Beverly said in disgust, thinking about all the times she had been cornered by Henry and Patrick and Belch, feeling their hands on her arms and poking her sides, their hot, smelly breath wafting over her face. She shuddered, then went back to work, helping Ben place a few smaller rocks together to create a barrier for the bigger ones. 

“I-It’s fine.” Bill said to the others. “If it is t-th-th-them, we’ll r-run.” 

Eddie glanced up at the bridge again, before he noticed something dark near the side. It looked like...hair?

“Guys!” He yelled, jumping from the rock and pointing at the bridge. They all turned to where he was looking, and tried to see what Eddie had seen. “I saw something too! There’s someone up there!”

“Anyone we know?” Mike asked, walking over to Eddie and wiping his hands on his pants.

“I, I don’t know. They had black hair.”

“That narrows it down then.” Stan said sarcastically and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Probably just someone walking by, who cares?” Ben said, wishing everyone could just get back to building the dam instead of getting distracted, like they always did. 

“I’m gonna go check.” Bev said, setting her pile of rocks down and walking towards Eddie who was sat near the hill leading up to the bridge. He gawked at her in shock, and grabbed her arm.

“Are you seriously going to check?” He asked, baffled. Bev raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the big deal?” She asked. “I’m just curious.”

“But what if it is Henry Bowers?” Stan said, stepping forward.

“Does Henry have black, curly hair?” Bev challenged, looking at all of them individually. No one said anything. “That’s what I thought.” She said, and started climbing. Bill glanced at the others and shrugged, and eventually they were all following her up the hill towards the bridge. 

“This is so stupid.” Stan muttered to himself, staying as far behind as he could incase of an attack. Bev, with Bill and Eddie right behind her, made her way up towards the left side of the bridge and creeped round the corner slowly, making sure they weren’t about to get jumped. Bev frowned when she got to the top, leaning round a tree only to see...nothing.

“See, told you it was just someone walking by.” Ben said, folding his arms over his chest. Bev sighed.

“I saw someone.” She whispered to herself, and looked around the clearing. Still nothing. Eddie shuffled his feet about nervously, before jumping as he felt his foot graze something smooth. He looked down only to see a coke can lying on the ground. 

“Great, now people are littering. As if Derry couldn’t get anymore gross.” He said in disgust. Bill knocked the can with his foot then frowned as he realised it hadn’t even been opened. He reached down, picking it up, and examined it. “Are you serious?” Eddie exclaimed. “Do you know how dirty that is? It’s lying on a dirt track!”

“It’s brand new, it’s not even dirty. Look.” Bill turned the can over in his hands, and even the others had to admit it was weird for a fresh can of coke to just be abandoned by the side of the road. 

“Maybe the person that came by dropped it?” Mike suggested, and the others couldn’t come up with anything else that would explain it.

“Can we go back now? This is pointless.” Stan asked, leaning against the post of the bridge. Bill put the can back on the ground, wishing there was a bin he could throw it in nearby, and nodded.

“Yeah, sure.” He then turned to Bev. “Sorry, I thought maybe we’d find something too.” Bev smiled kindly at him. At least Bill had her back. 

“Well, I’m glad we didn’t.” Eddie said, straightening up and following Stan back down the hill. “Don’t need anymore kids running around Derry, it’s overpopulated as it is.”  
As they slowly made their way back to the dam, the kids failed to notice a bush on the other side of the road rustle. Richie peeked his head out from the side of it, and stared as they kids slowly disappeared from his view, before sighing in relief yet again.

“Keep it together, Rich.” He muttered. “Jheez.” Once the kids were back at the dam, he ran back to where he had hidden his snacks, and scooped them into his arms before disappearing off into the trees again, not wanting to be seen. 

He walked around for a while near the edge of the forest that connected to the river, not wanting to stray too far from the town just yet, before finally setting on a large oak tree that had branches close enough to the ground for him to climb. He put his things to the ground and shrugged off his coat, before bundling the food and drinks into the coat and tying a knot with the sleeves to secure it. He swung it over his shoulder and neck, placing the bag over his back, and started to climb. He gripped one of the smaller branches with his left hand, before using his left foot to push himself up onto the first big branch, making sure it was stable before doing the same thing with his right hand and foot. He stood up straight and jumped to the next set of branches that were situated a little farther up the tree, and held on tight before swinging his right leg over it and pulling his body along with it. 

He climbed until he was high enough in the tree to not be seen from the ground, shielding himself with leaves and twigs, before settling on a fat, wide branch that overlooked the town quite nicely. He straddled the branch before taking the jacket off from his shoulder and tying it up and around a branch just above his head so he could take things out individually without everything falling to the ground. As he stared down at the town, watching people walk their dogs, drive their cars, pick up their kids from their friends houses, walk into diners to eat dinner, Richie munched on his stolen candy bars and sipped his stolen coke, wondering if any of those people, the kids from the river included, could survive what he survived. 

The constant travelling, being kicked out of fields by the cops because they were ‘trespassing’, being called trash by random people on the street for how he looked, having no money to his name since he was born. Being abandoned over and over again. No, none of those people down there could survive that. But he could.

He smiled. He fell asleep. And he dreamt of the beach.

Paradise.


	2. Curiosity Killed the Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the lovely comments guys! I'm so excited for this and I'm glad you're all enjoying it, so this one's for you! x

When he woke up, Richie was met with the unpleasant feeling of dampness covering his entire body, and he grimaced at the feeling of wet bark against his back. He shivered, the cold, morning air chilling him to the bone, before rubbing his eyes and staring out at the grey, overcast sky. The forest looked completely different to how it did the day before; sunny and beautiful, leaves falling softly to the ground, a gentle breeze. Now, now it was cold, dark, and unnerving. Richie liked being outdoors, he always had. Being cramped up in one space for too long made his knee twitch and his fingers fidget. Maybe this lifestyle was exactly what he needed.

He stretched as much as he could, not wanting to fall off the branch, before grabbing his hammock full of food and downing a coke before devouring some chocolate; that was breakfast for the day. He slung the jacket over his back again and began clambering down to the ground, wanting to explore this place, seeing as he was pretty sure he’d be forced to call home if he didn’t find anywhere better. He didn’t actually know where ‘this place’ even was. He needed a map, some directions maybe, but then remembered the fact he looked like he’d been rolling around in the dirt like a dog for the past few weeks, and instantly gave up on that idea. 

Talking to strangers would get him nowhere, especially if the pristine clothing of those kids he saw yesterday had any indication on what the rest of the town was like. 

Once he reached the ground, Richie found a small cluster of leaves to hide his snacks under, before pulling the damp jacket over his body, stuffing his shaking hands into the pockets and heading off towards the bridge once again. He saw a road leading off of it, and glanced down the river towards the town. Maybe it led straight into it, he thought, and shrugged, knowing he had nothing else to do that day. 

The dirt track connected up to a main road, and Richie trudged along the side of it, revealing in the quiet that he hadn’t been used to for a very long time, especially living with people like Wes, Max and Scott. He grunted in disgust at the thought of them. Assholes. He shook his head. He had to move on from them now. He’d never see them again, so what was the point in being angry over it? They clearly didn’t want him, so neither would he. After a few minutes of walking, and whistling some shitty old song he couldn’t remember the name of, Richie reached the town, and spotted a sign welcoming cars into it. He stared up at the white sign, water droplets covering every inch of it from the rain, and swirly, blue writing on one side reading: DERRY WELCOMES YOU.

“Derry?” Richie muttered to himself, frowning for a moment. Why did that seem familiar? Had Scott mentioned it when they last looked at their map? Maybe, he couldn’t quite remember, but that name seemed to sit weirdly in his stomach, as if he knew exactly what it meant. But he didn’t. He had never been here before, so how could he? He shrugged it off and started his whistling up again as he wandered down the main road leading into Derry, Maine, having no idea what those first few steps over the threshold would mean for him.

 

***

 

Across town, in a small, tidy bedroom, sat Eddie Kaspbrak tying his shoelaces. He looked at the alarm clock reading 10:23, and realised he should already be on his way to Stan’s house. 

“Shit.” He grumbled, and made sure his shoes were tight enough before hopping off his bed and running down the stairs to the front door.

“Eddie bear!” The shrill voice of his mother called from the kitchen. Eddie winced and turned around just as he reached the door, spotting his mother at the sink washing up dishes from breakfast. He gulped and wandered into the kitchen. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” She asked, not looking up from what she was doing. Eddie rolled his eyes, but quickly walked over to her, reached up on his tippie toes, and quickly pecked her cheek. Mrs Kaspbrak smiled and put a plate down on the draining board. “Inhaler?”

“Check.” Eddie said, opening his fanny pack and grabbing his inhaler.

“Pills? Have you taken your 9:00am one?”

“Yep.”

“Promise?”  
“Yes, Mom.” He said as sickly sweet as he could. Mrs Kaspbrak nodded.

“Good boy. Have fun, and don’t stay out too late, you know it’s going to rain today. I don’t want you getting another cold, you’re still getting over your last one.”

“Okay, Mommy.” He said and hurried off out the door. His bike was lying in the front yard and he grabbed it, grimacing at how wet the handlebars and seat were, before hastily wiping away the water and heading down the road to Stan’s house. He peddled quickly at first, but then realised how slippery the road looked and slowed down. There was no way he was going flying over these handle bars because he was too careless to be safe. No way. 

“You’re late!” Stan called out as Eddie parked his bike at the bottom of the Uris’s front yard, panting slightly with his fingers dancing over the zip of his fanny pack for his inhaler.

“Morning to you too, Stanley.” Eddie said sarcastically.

Stan shook his head slightly but kicked the stand away from his bike and started following Eddie down the street towards Bill’s house, then Ben’s and finally meeting Mike on the corner near his farm, seeing as he lived closest to the quarry.

Beverly had decided to meet the others at the quarry as she had wanted to go on an early morning ride through the forest to explore. It was rare her father let her out of the house with just the boys; always thinking she was ‘up to no good’ with them. But Bev had managed to convince her father that she went running every morning, wanting to try out for the track team, so Mr Marsh just let her be, always telling her to not run too far from Derry. As if Bev could if she tried; the boys would be after her on their bikes in an instant. 

“How long does it take you guys to cycle?” She teased once the boys finally arrived, Eddie parking his bike right next to hers and walking over to where she was perched on one of the rocks near the edge of the quarry cliff. 

“The roads are slippy, Bev.” He pointed out. “Do you know how dangerous it is to even ride a bike across those roads at the speed we usually go? Very. Let me tell you-”

“Save it, E-e-eds.” Bill teased, standing beside him with a smile. “We were c-c-ca-careful, weren’t w-w-we?”

Eddie pouted. “That’s not the point.”

“It never is.” Mike also teased, and the other losers laughed as Eddie went a little pink. 

“Sorry for not wanting to peddle one of you guys to the fucking hospital.” He said, and folded his arms, like a child having a tantrum. Bev smiled at him, before turning to the quarry.

“Shame it’s cold.” She said with a sigh. “I wanted to go swimming.”

“We’d catch hypothermia if we did.” Stan pointed out. 

“What else is there to do down here, anyway?” Beverly asked, looking at all the boys individually. None of them said anything. “Right. Great. Come on.” She said and hopped off the rock, walking towards the forest. 

“Where are you going?” Mike asked.

“I’m gonna find something fun to do!” She called back, running into the trees and disappearing. All the boys looked at each other before shrugging and just following quickly behind her. Beverly was practically skipping through the forest, loving the feeling of the wind whipping her short hair around and the grass underneath her sneakers. It felt freeing, just running and running without a care in the world. She knew the boys were trying their best to keep up, but none of them were any good at running. Not like her. Maybe she should try out for track after all.

“Hey Bev!” She heard Ben call out. “Wait for us!”

“Come on slow pokes!” She beamed, turning her head around briefly to see them all panting and gasping. She let out a loud, beautiful laugh, and carried on running. Even if she ran ahead of them, she’d find them again. She always did. 

Beverly came to a clearing near a large oak tree and decided to take a breather, her legs starting to feel heavy and her face slightly red. She sighed then breathed in the smell of wet grass, finding it oddly calming. She was about to turn around and call out to the boys, but she spotted something. Something was shining on the ground, under some leaves, and she frowned as she stepped closer. She bent down and brushed the leaves away, only to stare in surprise at what was hiding there.

Another coke can, identical to the one Bill had found yesterday by the bridge. She picked it up, realising it was full like the other one, and started brushing more leaves away. Packets of chips and multiple candy bars were revealed to her lying on the ground, all dewy and cold from the wet ground, and she just sat back on her heels with a confused look.

“Whose stuff is this?” She whispered to herself, before she froze as a twig snapped behind her.

“Having fun down there?” A unfamiliar voice said and Bev jumped up to see a boy around her age step out from behind a tree, a raised eyebrow on his face and an amused look. 

“This...is this your stuff?” Beverly asked, gesturing to the coke can in her hand. The boy blinked and then nodded.

“And I’d appreciate it if you put it back.” He said, not in a rude way, Beverly realised. She nodded, placing the coke can back where she had found it and pushing the leaves over everything so it was hidden. The boy smiled at her then. “Cheers mah dear!” He said, faking a British accent. “I do believe my manners have completely gone out the window!” He then stepped forward and shot a hand out to her. “Richie Tozier’s the name! Hiding shit under leaves is my game.” Beverly stared at his grubby hand for a few seconds before stifling a laugh and shaking it.

“Beverly Marsh.” She said, looking the boy up and down, taking in his ripped denim jacket that was about five sizes too big and his tattered old sneakers that looked like they had never been washed. When she pulled her hand back, Richie leaned against the oak tree and crossed his arms over his chest.

“So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“My friends and I come here sometimes. And what do you mean yours?” Bev asked.

“I ain’t got anywhere else to rest my pretty little head.” Richie joked, but that only seemed to confuse Bev even more. “If you’d care to cast your pretty eyes upwards, you’d see my home.” Bev did just that, and looked up at oak tree. It clicked after a moment of thinking.

“You live here? In that tree?” She asked slowly, not quite sure whether to believe this kid or not.

“I do indeed. Just moved in yesterday, lovely neighborhood by the way. Very welcoming.” Richie smirked. Bev shook her hair out.

“Wait, you don’t actually live in a tree, do you?” 

“Is that so hard to believe? Do I look like a cut grass, white picket fence kind of a guy to you?” Richie waved his hands over his body, showing off his dirty clothes and messy hair. Bev had to admit he didn’t exactly look like the rest of the kids in Derry. He looked like he was from out of town...but even then, he didn’t look like he really belonged anywhere. 

“What do your parents think of this hippie lifestyle?” Beverly asked, making Richie’s smile grow even wider. 

“They wouldn’t know, they don’t live ‘round here.” 

“Where do they live then?”

“Somewhere.” Richie said, and that was that. Bev nodded slowly, not wanting to pry into this stranger’s life straight away. 

“So, let me get this straight. You live in a tree, in the outskirts of Derry, and you horde coca cola?”

“They don’t have tea and crumpets where I’m from, darlin’.” Richie said, winking at her and then pulled a box of cigarettes from his pocket. Bev stared as he lit up and took a long drag, smoke slowly drifting from his lips and into the air, setting Bev’s body on fire. She forgot to bring her own pack with her, shit. Richie caught her staring, and offered her the box. “Want one?”

“Uh, no. Thanks.” She said reluctantly, as much as she really wanted to say yes. Richie shrugged and put the box away. 

“Suit yourself.” He said, the cigarette dangling from his mouth as he spoke. There was a short pause of silence before Beverly realised something and stepped closer to Richie.

“Did I see you yesterday?” She asked. “Up on the bridge, I thought I saw-”

“For someone like me, I’m not actually that good at hiding.” Richie said with a laugh. 

Bev smiled at him. “I knew I saw something. What were you doing up there, anyway?”

“Heard you and your friends, thought I’d check it out. Wanted to see you first before you saw me.” 

“I suppose that makes sense.” Bev said. “So, Richie, right?”

“Uh huh.” He said, looking at her. Beverly was about to go on, when she heard the heavy footsteps of the boys, and she turned, seeing them all gasping and panting behind her. She watched in amusement as Eddie ripped his inhaler from his fanny pack and took multiple puffs, trying to calm himself down.

“Jesus, fuck!” He gasped out, leaning against the tree Richie was leaning on, however he completely failed to notice him. “Never, EVER, do that again Beverly. Please.”

“Eds.” Bev said, trying to get his attention. 

“I’m serious, you know you nearly gave me a fucking asthma attack, you ran so fast!” Eddie continued, taking another puff on his inhaler. Richie, realising the others hadn’t seem him either, stepped forward so he was standing a little bit behind Eddie, and smirked as the shorter boy tried to get as much air into his lungs as he could.

“Eddie-”

The other boys then finally realised what was going on, and all stared wide eyed as Richie stepped closer to Eddie again, practically leaning over his shoulder. 

“Eddie-” Bill said, leaning on his knees.

“Oh my god, what?!” Eddie gasped out. “Why do you keep saying me name?”

“They’re warning you about me.” Richie said close to his ear, resting a hand on his shoulder, and Eddie screamed. His entire body lurched forward at the unexpected contact and he collapsed in a heap on the ground. Richie couldn’t help but burst out laughing as the boy stared at him in shock and disgust. “Sorry, kid.” He said between laughs. “Couldn’t resist.”

“Who they hell are you?!” Eddie spat, clutching at his chest. “You gave me a heart attack!”

“I’m that good looking, huh?” Richie teased, taking a drag of his cigarette and leaning his right side against the tree trunk again. He blow the smoke down towards Eddie, who spluttered and waved his hand around to try and get rid of the stench.

“Can you smoke your cancer stick somewhere else?” He said, brushing himself off as Stan and Ben helped him off the ground. “Mom will kill me if I smell of smoke.”

“What’s his problem?” Richie asked Beverly, nodding at Eddie.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Stan asked with a frown, glaring at Richie. Richie nodded and raised his hands in surrender.

“I’m so sorry, see Beverly, I told you my manners are out the window today!” He said, looking at her as she giggled. That got Ben and Bill’s attention fairly quickly. “Richie Tozier, or Trashmouth as my last friends so kindly named me. Nice to meet ya!” Richie smiled at all of the boys as they all glanced at each other, unsure on how to respond. Eventually, Bill stepped forward.

“My name’s B-b-b-bill. This is Ben, S-st-st-stan, M-mike and that’s-”

“Eddie. Got it.” Richie said, smirking at the shortest of their group and looking him up and down. “Cute shorts. Pink suits you.” Eddie’s nostrils flared as he glared at him.

“They’re comfortable. Nicer than your jeans, which are filthy by the way, ever heard of a washing machine?”

Richie chuckled to himself before taking one last drag of his cigarette and stubbing it out on the tree. “No actually, care to show me one?”

“You’re not stepping foot in my house with those shoes. My mom will flip.” Eddie grimaced at his sneakers, and Richie raised one up to look it over.

“Oh they aren’t that bad, are they? There’s only a little big of dog shit on them, look!” He kicked his foot up and Eddie saw something brown on the bottom and wretched, grabbing his inhaler. Richie laughed loudly, clutching his side and setting his foot back down.

“Eddie, he’s just goofing around, take no notice.” Beverly said, giving Richie a look and he backed off slightly.

“My bad, didn’t mean to scare the kid.”

“I’m not a kid!” Eddie bit back, his voice hoarse after puffing on his inhaler. “I’m sixteen in like three weeks.”

“Oh well, there you go then.” Richie said, grinning. Eddie grumbled to himself as the rest of the group just stared at the two in shock. Who the hell was this kid?

“I haven’t seen you around Derry.” Ben said after a pause. “You just move here?”

“Haven’t taken the for sale sign down yet but, she’s home.” Richie said, patting the oak tree and making them all frown.

“You live in a tree?” Mike asked.

“Like a bird?” Stanley asked.

“Sure do. Ain’t she a beauty?” Richie said with a lopsided grin. 

“Are you trying to be Tarzan or something?” Eddie said, clearly unimpressed, and Richie looked at him. 

“You think I got the muscles to be Tarzan? That’s sweet, Eds.”

“I didn’t say that!” Eddie said, his cheeks going pink, whether that was out of anger or embarrassment he wasn’t sure. “And my name’s not Eds. It’s Eddie.”

“Eds sound’s cuter, don’t you think?” Richie said, taking another long drag. Eddie narrowed his eyes.

“No. I don’t.”

“I bet your Mom would agree with me.” Richie said. “I’m great with parents.”

“I highly doubt that.” Eddie bit back. “My mother would take one look at you and think a leper had just walked into her home.”

“I don’t think that’s what she’d be thinking if she saw me.” Richie smirked and Eddie glared at him. “Like I said, I’m great with parents.”

“Gross.” Stan muttered. 

Richie sighed whilst stubbing his cigarette out on the tree and stood up straight, then shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well, it was lovely meeting all of you, now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and find some supper for tonight. Can’t keep the old stomach empty for much longer.” He patted his belly and made his way through the group, winking at Beverly who smiled back at him, and then winking at Eddie, who was practically seething with anger. “Oh and uh, Eds? Be sure to say hi to your Mom for me, I’d love to meet her sometime.” He said, reaching out to pat his shoulder. But Eddie backed away before he could even come close.

“Do not touch me!” Eddie warned, pointing a finger at him. Richie raised his hands and beamed a wide smile. 

“No problem, Prince Eddie.” Richie then saluted at the rest of them and walked off into the forest, completely disappearing after a couple of seconds, and leaving the losers in utter confusion.

“Okay, who was that?” Ben asked, turning to Beverly.

“Just...some guy. I found his stash of food and he was just there.” She looked at others. “He seems nice.”

“Nice?” Eddie spluttered, wiping at the shoulder Richie had touched earlier on when he scared him and grimaced, as if the kid was diseased. “He’s revolting. Did you see the state of his hair? His clothes? Has he ever heard of a bath?”

“I don’t t-t-think he even has a b-b-bath to u-us-use.” Bill said with a frown, looking at Beverly. 

“I don’t think he was joking when he said he lived in that tree.” Mike said, walking over to it and looking up. “Looks pretty easy to climb.”

“I’ve never seen him around before, I would have spotted him a mile away if I had.” Ben said. 

“Do you think he has any parents?” Stan asked the group and they all shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe they live here?” Mike suggested. “Maybe he ran away?”

“He said that his parents didn’t live here. That they’re just...somewhere.” Bev said, staring off in the direction Richie had gone. 

“Maybe t-t-they d-d-d-ied?” Bill said, feeling instantly sorry for the kid. 

“Jesus…” Ben muttered. “What is he doing all the way out here on his own? Shouldn’t he be in a foster home or something?”

“What family would wanna foster that?” Eddie asked in disgust, shoving his inhaler in his fanny pack and straightening his shirt. “And can’t we just forget about him already? He’s just some kid.”

“A homeless kid, Eddie. Doesn’t that make you feel bad?” Beverly asked with a frown.

“Not my problem.” Eddie shook his head. “IF he wants to sleep in a tree, he can be my fucking guest.”

“Don’t be so harsh.” Bev scolded and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Well, where else is he gonna go? There’s no foster home here and none of us are gonna invite him over for lunch.” Everyone went quiet. 

“Should one of us ask our parents what to do?” Ben asked. Eddie instantly started shaking his head,

“Uh, no! No way!” He protested.

“My Dad would freak if I even suggested having a boy in the apartment.” Bev said sadly. 

“My grandad might let him stay the night, he might be able to call someone, but he’s always wary of strangers.” Mike said.

“It’s not really my house, don’t know if I can ask my Aunt that.” Ben shrugged sadly.

“Dad’s been busy at work recently, he barely wants me in the house, let alone some kid.” Stan said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. They all looked at Eddie, who just scoffed.

“Next person.” He said grumpily. Bev shook her head at him and turned to Bill.

“Bill? What about your parents?”

“I mean...m-ma-maybe? We have t-t-the garage he could s-s-sleep in?”

“Guys, come on!” Eddie burst out, making them all jump. “Are you seriously suggesting a homeless kid sleep in your house? We don’t even know him! He could be a drug dealer!”

“He’s our age.” Bev pointed out.

“So what? You saw how he looked, right? All dazed, and how he was acting? That’s not normal.”

“Just because he was flirting with you doesn’t mean he’s stoned, Eds.” Ben said with a small smirk and Eddie whipped his head round.

“He was not!” 

“He was a little bit.” Mike laughed and Eddie went bright red. The others started laughing at their friend’s discomfort, knowing that any sort of affection from boys or girls made Eddie go red. 

“Don’t w-w-worry Eddie.” Bill said, patting his shoulder comfortingly. “I’ll a-a-ask my pa-pa-parents tonight and s-s-see what they s-say. You probably won’t e-e-ever to s-s-see R-r-richie again an-anyways.”

Eddie snorted. “Yeah. Trust me, I’ll make sure of that.”


	3. Kid in the Rain

Days went be in a blur, and yet Eddie couldn’t stop thinking about whether that homeless kid was still in the woods. He hadn’t seen him since their first encounter by the oak tree, and neither had the others. Bev had gone looking for him one afternoon, only telling the others once she came back with a sad look. 

“Why do you want to find him?” Eddie scoffed, leaning against Bill’s arm chair, Mike sat above him. “He’s just some kid.”

“I feel bad for him, Eddie.” Bev said, looking at all of her friends. “He’s all alone out there. No friends, no family. I mean, who does he talk too?”

“Himself, because he’s crazy.” Eddie muttered, earning a soft kick from Mike. “Well it’s true! He’s insane! He lives in the fucking forest like a wild animal. It’s full of bugs and bees and poison ivy!” 

“N-n-not everything in the woods is p-p-poi-poisonous Eddie.” Bill said, getting only a scoff in return before Eddie went back to watching TV.

“I still think we should help him.” Bev said. “That’s all I’m saying.”

“If I didn’t have my Aunt to go too, I’d have no one.” Ben said. “Id want someone to care enough to at least offer me an option instead of assuming I’d be fine by myself.”

“Okay, stop making me look like the bad guy, okay?” Eddie snapped, seeing the looks the others were giving him. “It’s not my fault he’s homeless.”

“It’s not his either.” Mike said gently. “Ben’s got a point. Without my granddad, I’d be in the same boat. I got lucky with you guys, Richie clearly hasn’t been so lucky.” Eddie shook his head.

“He just seems...weird.” Eddie said slowly. 

“That’s because he isn’t from Derry.” Stan pointed out. “Everyone from outside Derry seems weird, just like we must seem weird to them. It’s natural.” 

“He’s also filthy. Like a wild dog. His hair, his clothes, ugh.” Eddie shook his head and Bev rolled her eyes. 

“Grow up, Eddie.” She said harshly before storming off into the kitchen. Mike groaned and quickly followed her, glaring at Eddie as he did so. Eddie huffed in annoyance before leaning further away from the others, not feeling in the mood to look at them right now. He was being logical here, they had to understand that at least. He didn’t know this kid, no one did, who knows what he’d do? 

Maybe he’d steal his mother’s jewellery or eat all his food in the night. He didn’t want to find out. 

“I still n-n-need to ask my p-p-pa-arents what they think.” Bill said. “They’ll know w-what to do.”

“Or they’ll ground you for even suggesting that idea.” Eddie shook his head. 

“They won’t!” Bill said. “T-th-they won’t. They’ll t-t-tell me what to do, what w-w-we should all do.” Eddie sighed.

“I’m not being harsh. I’m being realistic, okay?” He said. Bill just looked back at the TV. 

Another day passed, and a storm hit the town. Drains were overflowing and trees were bending at the speed of the wind. Eddie stared outside his bedroom window glumly, wishing for once he could actually go outside with the other kids and play in the rain.

“Are y-y-you okay?” Bill asked from Eddie’s desk, homework scattered around him.

“I hate Derry.” Eddie said. “The weather is shit, the people are shit.”

“You can s-s-say that again.” Bill sighed, going back to looking at this stupid History question. “M-m-maybe we can go s-s-swimming tomorrow? If it stops raining?”

“Sure.” Eddie said half heartedly. He was watching the kids below him stamp their feet in the water, splashing each other and laughing. His mother would never let him go outside in weather like this, god forbid he came back sneezing. He’d be having hospital food for dinner. “You ever wanted to leave?”

“What?” Bill asked, glancing up from his paper. Eddie moved away from the window and sat cross legged on the bed. 

“Derry, I mean. Ever wanted to see what was outside it?”

“You m-m-make it sound like a p-p-prison, Eds.” Bill smiled.

“Tell me the differences between Derry, Maine and prison and I’ll buy you a coke at the arcade.” Eddie smiled back. “I just...ive never been on holiday before. Mom doesn’t want me getting sick.”

“M-m-maybe we can all go o-o-one day?” Bill suggested. “We could go to D-d-dis-Disney world!”

“You need to stop hanging out with Georgie.” Eddie smirked and Bill rolled his eyes.

“It looks f-f-“ But before he could finish, there was screaming coming from outside. Bill’s heard snapped towards the window and Eddie hurried back over to it, peering out to see what all the fuss was about. At first nothing seemed wrong, then he saw the body kneeling down in the street. 

“The fuck is that?” Eddie exclaimed. Bill was at his side in seconds, and frowned when he saw the body. Then his eyes bulged. He jumped off Eddie’s bed and out the room, Eddie running after him with a confused expression. “Bill! Bill, what is it?” When he was downstairs he realised his mother was passed out on the sofa and gulped as he tipped toed past her, sprinting out into the rain after Bill. His body erupted into shivers the second the rain started hitting him, and he wrapped his arms around himself to try and keep warm. He could barely see through the rain, and squinted his eyes only to see Bill kneeling in the flooded street beside the body. ‘Bill!” Eddie shouted over the wind. 

“It’s R-r-richie!” He faintly heard back, and Eddie’s mouth dropped open. He walked over, recognising the oversized jacket and mop of black hair, which was now clinging to Richie’s forehead in thick, wet strands. He was unconscious, or at least Eddie assumed he was, and his skin was sickly pale. His eyes travelled down to his fingers, noticing that they were practically purple, matching the colour of his lips. Eddie swore under his breath. “He’s in b-b-bad shape!” Bill shouted to him, snapping him back to reality. “We n-n-need to get him help!”

“Where? The hospital is across town and we can’t drive!” Eddie shouted back, his body starting to shudder more violently. 

“Get him inside!” Bill ordered and started lifting Richie’s lifeless body up into his arms, only for Eddie to start shaking his head.

“Are you crazy?!” 

“He needs medicine! You have p-p-plenty!” Bill said, determination in his eyes.

“If my mom sees him-“

“She won’t! We’ll t-t-take him up-p-upstairs!” Bill ordered, and he nodded at Richie’s feet. Eddie swore loudly this time, before grabbing Richie’s dirty trainers and lifting them so his body wasn’t being drenched in the puddle from the road. He then walked backwards up his yard to the front door, and carefully stepped inside. Eddie craned his neck towards the living room, sighing as he saw his mother hadn’t even stirred. He then ushered Bill and the rest of Richie’s body inside and Bill quietly pushed the door closed with his foot. The two of them held their breath when it almost slammed, thankful that his mother was completely passed out.

“Okay, carefully up the stairs, got it? Don’t make a fucking sound.” Eddie whispered, hoisting Richie’s legs higher up his body so he wasn’t dragging him across the floor. Bill nodded and the two gently started carrying Richie upstairs, Eddie trying to steady his breathing as he had to navigate backwards. His foot slipped from the rain dripping off his hair and he let out a squeak when he accidentally let go of Richie’s left foot, causing it to fall and smack against the wooden step.

“J-j-Jesus, Eddie!” Bill whisper yelled and Eddie scowled at him as he pulled Richie’s foot back up. 

“Keep moving.” Eddie urged, wanting to get Richie up and out of the possibly sight of his mother. She could wake up any second and he had no idea how he’d explain this. Once they finally reached the first floor, Eddie started making his way to the bathroom, and at first Bill protested, nodding at Eddie’s bedroom instead.

“Wouldn’t it be b-b-better to put him down s-s-somewhere comfortable?”

“There’s no way this hobo is sleeping on my fresh sheets.” Eddie scoffed, and pulled Richie towards the bathroom, Bill reluctantly coming with him. “I can already feel like an asthma attack coming on and he’s barely been in my house for two god damn minutes.” Eddie muttered, Bill rolling his eyes and following Eddie down the hallway into the bathroom, gently putting Richie down inside the tub and breathing a heavy sigh of relief. Bill and Eddie stood side by side, staring down at the unconscious kid before them, and Eddie shook his head.

“This was a terrible idea.”

“N-n-no it’s not.” Bill said. “We just n-n-need to s-s-see what’s wrong with him.”

“Is he even breathing?” Eddie asked, his eyes widening. “Did you feel him breathe? Oh god, what if he’s dead?”

“He’s not d-de-dead!” Bill spat. But paused before reaching down and grabbing Richie’s wrist, feeling for a pause. Bill frowned and looked back at Eddie, making the smaller boy let out a strained noise.

“Oh god, oh FUCK! He is dead isn’t he!” He started pacing around the bathroom as Bill felt for Richie’s pulse again, not moving for a few moments before smiling.

“I g-g-got it!” He said, and Eddie turned to face him. “It’s faint, though. He needs m-m-medical attention.”

“We can’t take him there ourselves. And I can’t get my mom involved.” Eddie said. Bill thought for a moment, before turning to Eddie. 

“Stan’s dad has a l-l-library.”

“So?”

“S-s-so, if we got one of his b-b-books on medical stuff, could you help h-h-him?”

“You’re asking me to take care of him?!” Eddie exclaimed. 

“Eddie, p-p-please!” Bill begged. “What if it w-w-was you!” 

“I wouldn’t have gotten myself hypothermia by living in a fucking tree for a start-“

“Eddie!” Eddie paused, glanced down at Richie, taking in his tired, sickly expression, and groaned.

“Fine. Fucking fine! Call Stanley. Tell him to come through the back door. Mom doesn’t like too many people in the house. More germs.” 

Stan was hesitant to come over at first, not entirely sure whether Bill was actually being serious. Richie, the homeless kid, was currently passed out in Eddie Kaspbrak’s pristine bathroom, and Eddie had actually allowed that to happen? Unlikely. 

But he eventually agreed to bring over a few of his fathers medical books and cycled round within minutes. Stan jogged up the stairs as quietly as he could, ‘Eddie’s orders’. When he knocked on the bathroom door and was dragged in by Bill, Stan wasn’t expecting the sight before him. 

Eddie was sat on the toilet seat, bundled up in about a hundred blankets, shivering like a chihuahua, a cup of hot of tea in his lap, with Richie Tozier’s unconscious body lying in the bathtub beside him.

“What happened?” Stan asked, shock taking over. Bill looked at Eddie, who hadn’t stopped scowling since he got his tea. 

“He was j-j-just lying in the r-r-Road.” Bill explained. 

“In this weather?” 

“We t-t-think that’s the reason he passed out. He might have hypothermia.”

“That’s what he gets for living in a fucking tree.” Eddie grumbled, but both boys ignored him. Stan walked up to the tub, looked over Richie a few times, before looking at each of the books he had brought. 

“I don’t know if these will help at all but, it’s all he had.” Stan handed the books to Eddie, who out his tea down and inspected each of them carefully, flicking through the pages and examining nearly every word. He eventually picked one and put the others on the floor. 

“This should help.” He said, and Bill and Stan glanced at each other. 

“You’re sure?” Bill asked, and Eddie nodded.

“He basically just needs to stay warm. He’s been out there for a long time and his body temperature is way down.” Bill nodded and reached over to Richie, trying to get his jacket off. Eddie jumped up, one of the blankets falling to his feet. “What are you-“

“He needs to warm up, r-r-right? He c-c-can’t stay in these w-w-wet clothes.” Eddie wanted to groan in annoyance, but Stanley gave him a pointed look before he could. 

“Okay. I’ll get him some stuff. But it’s not gonna fit.” When Eddie came back, having gotten some freshly washed clothes from the dryer, Bill and Stan had stripped Richie down to his underwear, leaving him more exposed than Eddie wanted. He grimaced, seeing the boy's thin, lanky body, but handed Bill the clothes nonetheless. 

“Yeah, these won't fit.” Stan said, holding the pyjama pants up against his own legs. They didn’t even reach his ankles, and from what he remembered, Richie was taller than him. 

“I’m short, okay! It’s all I’ve got.” Eddie blushed whilst Bill desperately tried to shrug Richie into the tiny pyjama pants. Stan yanked on the sweater Eddie had also given him, and once they were finished they stepped back and looked at him, taking in the sweater sleeves barely going past his elbows and the pants looking more like long shorts. 

“It’ll do.” Stan said. “Let’s get him into bed, we’ll wrap him in some blankets and make him something warm to drink when he wakes up.” 

“We don’t have a spare room for him to sleep in.” Eddie said, folding his arms. Bill and Stan just looked at him. “Oh no. No! There is no way he is having my bed!” 

 

***

Eddie was glaring at Richie from the floor where he was lying, hating him more and more very minute. Bill and Stan had offered to create a sort of makeshift bed with a punch of spare pillows and blankets, but Eddie still grumbled and muttered that he hated them.

“You’re saving someone’s life. Doesn’t that help?” Stan asked tiredly. 

“No. No it doesn’t.” He said grumpily, and Stan just gave up after that. He and Bill went home once Richie was tucked in properly and his temperature started to go up. His lips and tips of his fingers had started going back to their regular colour and his breathing was back to normal. He just hadn’t woken up yet. And that’s what annoyed Eddie the most. He wanted Richie to wake up so he could give him a piece of his mind, telling him he needs to go to a hotel or something, fuck it, maybe a different tree. Just. Not. His. House. 

“You’re gonna get it in the morning.” Eddie muttered and turned over to face the other way, getting fed up staring at the kids stupid face. 

“What am I getting?” Eddie jumped out of his skin and sat up, turning his bedroom lamp on and staring in horror as Richie stared back at him. He was blinking and rubbing his eyes, but he was awake. And Eddie wanted to scream.

“You...you-“

“Where am I?” Richie asked, looking round the room and frowning. “This ain’t the forest.”

Eddie bit the inside of his cheek. “No. It’s not the forest. It’s not your fucking tree. It’s my bedroom.” 

“Oh.” Richie said. “Why am I in your bedroom?”

“Because you-“ Eddie’s voice was raised louder than he expected and he clamped his mouth shut, not wanting to wake his mother up. “Because you collapsed in the street!” He whispered

“I did? When?” Richie asked, wracking his brain.

“Hours ago. Bill and I dragged you in here and changed your clothes. They’re in the washer and I need to get them out and dried before my mother sees them.”

“Why was I in town?” Richie asked himself, and Eddie went red. 

“Are you not listening to me?” He snapped and Richie blinked.

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Long day.”

“You’ve got that right.” Eddie scoffed. “Anyway. Now that you’re up, I want my bed back. You can have the floor.” Eddie stood up, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at Richie, who just looked him up and down and smirked.

“Pink really does suit you.” Eddie looked down at himself and then clenched his fists. He was wearing a long pink shirt and black shorts, and he regretted them both immediately. 

“Shut up. Move.”

“Okay, Okay! I’m moving your highness, give me a second.” Richie crawled out of bed and onto the floor, wrapping the mountain of blankets around his body and snuggling up near Eddie’s feet, much to the other boys disgust. “Hey. From down here you actually look a regular height.”

“Okay, fuck you.” Eddie spat and hopped into his bed, sighing at the feeling of the mattress under his back. There was a long silence before Richie started fidgeting. Eddie tried to ignore it, but the floorboards were squeaking under his weight and he was sighing and grumbling and Eddie wanted to throw him out the window. “What are you doing?” He whispered harshly. 

“I’m trying to get comfortable on your floor.” Richie said.

“Well...hurry up.” Eddie said, closing his eyes and curling up under the covers. 

“Eddie, right?” Richie said, and Eddie sighed.

“What?”

“Is your name short for Edward or Edmund? I’ve been meaning to ask?”

“Does it matter?”

“Sure. It’s short for something, right? Don’t you wanna know what Richie is short for?” He asked, leaning an arm underneath his head. 

“Not really.”

“It’s Richard. A tough guess, I know.”

“Please just go to sleep.” Eddie begged.

“Sorry, you’re right. It’s just that…” Richie’s voice trailed off and Eddie frowned. He sounded, sad? 

“What?” He asked without meaning too. 

“It’s difficult sleeping alone. Can’t we cuddle?”

“Fuck off!” Eddie groaned as Richie started laughing, muffling his voice by stuffing his face into the pillow. 

“Is that a no?” Richie snorted.

“It’s a fuck you.” 

“Maybe for your birthday.” Richie said with a wink that Eddie wished he could say he didn’t see in the dark. “It’s coming up, right?” 

“I hate you.” Eddie mumbled and turned his back on him. Another long silence before Richie finally found a comfortable position and sighed. 

“Good night, Prince Eddie.” 

Eddie was going to kill Bill and Stan in the morning.


	4. When Henry Met Richie

“My baby he don't talk sweet  
He ain't got much to say”

Eddie’s eyes slowly blinked open, and he raised his hand to shield them from the sun piercing through his blinds. He checked his alarm clock, the tiny red numbers reading 9:03, and sighed. Then he frowned.

“But he loves me, loves me, loves me  
I know that he loves me anyway”

He sat up, looking around his room, before realising his stereo wasn’t on. So why was there music playing? His mother rarely played music in the house, meaning Eddie only ever heard Wheel of Fortune blaring through the television instead of whatever was being played on the radio that day. So why could he hear music?

“And maybe he don't dress fine  
But I don't really mind”

He looked down the side of his bed, seeing the sprawled out blankets and pillows covering his floor, and his eyes bulged. Richie was gone. Eddie hadn’t heard him move, how could he have gone? Where could he have gone? Then he stared at the slightly open bedroom door and his heart jumped into his throat. 

“Shit!” Eddie cried and threw the covers off of his body, running out of the room and onto the landing, seeing his mother’s bedroom door was wide open, her bed freshly made. She was gone too?

“Because every time he pulls me near  
I just want to cheer”

Eddie had never run down the stairs so fast before in his life, and was practically jumping three steps at a time, and skidded into the main hallway of his house before running towards the kitchen. If Eddie’s eyes would bulge out of his skull anymore, then they would at what he saw next.

The radio was on, blasting out a song Eddie hated himself for knowing all too well, the smell of cooking bacon filled his nose, and Richie was dancing in the kitchen. 

“Let's hear it for the boy  
Let's give the boy a hand  
Let's hear it for my baby  
You know you got to understand”

Richie was singing too, Eddie realised, and he watched in a confused daze as he skidded along the floor, spatula in hand near his lips to act as a microphone, before spinning on the spot and noticing Eddie. Richie’s face broke out into a huge grin and he ushered him over.

“Morning, Eds!” He called, tapping his feet and bobbing his head to the beat. Eddie walked into the kitchen, staring at Richie before glancing around the room. There was cutlery and some plates laid out on the table and he could see eggs in another pan on the stove, along with the bacon, some baked beans and even a few sausages. He didn’t even know his mother had all of this in the house. 

“What...what…” Eddie tried to say, but Richie’s eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to talk.

“Wait, let me turn the music down!” He called out, and reached over to fiddle with the knob on the radio, the music slowly dimming down to a dull background murmer. Eddie’s ears were ringing a little and he winced as he rubbed them, but Richie just turned back to the stove and started piling the bacon and eggs together in the pan. “Didn’t think you were gonna be up yet, was gonna bring this up to ya.” He said cheerfully, walking over to the table with the pan and putting an equal amount of eggs and bacon onto each plate. Eddie just stared at him.

“You can cook?” He blurted out randomly, making Richie snort.

“Yes, Eddie. The homeless kid can cook.” He shook his head before putting the pan down and getting the bowl filled with baked beans. “So cute.”  
“B-but...my mom-”

“Went out, there’s a note on the fridge.” Richie nodded at the regrigerator next to him as he dished up the beans. Eddie hurried over and ripped the tiny piece of paper from the magnet of the Empire State Building his aunt got him once. 

Running errands, won’t be home till supper.  
Take your pills, Eddie bear.

Eddie cringed, realising Richie actually had to read that, before throwing the paper into the trashcan near his feet. 

“Want sausages?” Richie asked, hovering over Eddie’s plate with a hopeful look. Eddie turned to him, still in shock, before he bit his lip.

“What are you doing?” He finally asked. Richie put some sausages onto his plates anyway.

“Making breakfast?” He said. “You not like breakfast? Oh shit, are you a vegertarian or something? Do you not want this stuff? Because you know man, I’ll eat it.”

“I mean why are you still here?” Eddie frowned. “You’re cooking bacon in my kitchen!”

“I can’t cook it in the bathroom now, can I.” Richie winked and sat down at the table once he put the pan on the now turned off stove. “Come on, it’s gonna get cold.”

“But why are you-”

“I wanted to say thank you.” Richie interrupted him, looking at Eddie more seriously this time. Eddie was stunned. “I...I didn’t last night, I felt like an ass. I should have been more greatful for you and Bill and that other kid-”

“His name’s Stanley.”

“Right, Stan the man.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “I should have been more greatful for you guys bringing me here. Keeping me warm. And I wasn’t. So this is me saying thank you.” Richie then stuffed a forkful of beans into his mouth. Eddie didn’t move, it was like his feet were glued to the floor. Richie munched on his breakfast before suddenly spluttering, making Eddie jump.

“Jesus, are you okay?!”

“I forgot the OJ!” Richie cried and jumped from the table to the fridge, nudging Eddie out of the way slightly with his hip and grabbing the opened carton of juice from the second shelf. “Where do you keep your glasses?” 

“Uh...the third cabinet.” Eddie said slowly. Richie nodded and took two out before returning to the table and laughing to himself.

“Damn, I almost ruined breakfast! Can’t have eggs and bacon without orange juice.” Eddie had never felt so speechless in his entire life. Was this actually happening right now? Richie poured him and Eddie full glasses, before looking up. “You gonna sit down?” 

Once again, he didn’t move, but then he saw the hopeful look in Richie’s eyes, and realised the kid was being serious. He was thankful. And so he sat down. He gingerly picked up his fork and poked at the fried eggs. He burst the yolk, which turned out to still be runny and he paused.

“You don’t like runny eggs?” Richie asked, worry written across his face.

“I love runny eggs.” Eddie muttered. Richie grinned, some bean juice running down the corner of his mouth, and he laughed before wiping it away. 

“Good. Eat up, Eddie boy! We got a big day ahead of us!” Eddie put some bacon and egg and sausage onto his fork before looking up at Richie.  
“What are you talking about?”

“I was gonna ask if you and your friends would give me the grand tour!” Richie said happily. “I kind of wandered around the outskirts of this place a few days ago but, didn’t really get the full tourist experiance, ya know?”

“You want us to show you Derry?” Eddie nearly scoffed. “The most boring town in the world?”

“Well, I don’t know about that.” Richie said, “This place hasn’t bored me so far.” He winked again, and Eddie flushed. He finished his bacon quietly, before Richie spoke again. “Would that be okay? Spending the day with me?”

“I…” Eddie trailed off, before sighing. What else was he doing to do today? His homework? “I guess...Beverly wanted to see you again.” Richie’s face lit up at the sound of her name.

“Miss Marsh! I’ve missed her! How’s she doing?”

“You saw her less than a week ago. Once.” Eddie pointed out.

Richie shrugged before downing half of his juice. “You can’t not miss a girl like that. ‘Specially not one that pretty.” Eddie felt his stomach twist slightly, and he didn’t know why. 

“Yeah, she is pretty.” He mumbled and Richie nodded. 

“She got a boyfriend?” Eddie coughed awkwardly.

“Uh, no. She doesn’t. But Bill likes her, so does Ben.” He mentally smacked himself. Why the fuck was he telling a stranger this information? 

“I guessed that.”

“You guessed?”

“Ain’t it obvious?” Richie laughed, and Eddie had to agree with him on that one. Ben and Bill had never been subtle about Beverly Marsh, and they probably never would be. “It would be good to see her again. Your other friends seem nice too.”

“They are.” Eddie said a little fondly, smiling slightly at the though of seeing the others again.

“Sooo...that’s a yes?” Richie asked and Eddie sighed before nodding his head. Richie grinned and clicked his tongue. “You my friend, are the best.”

“I don’t really think we’re friends-”

“You’re the closest thing I’ve got to a friend in a long while so you should get used to me calling you that, Eds.” Richie said, grabbing his empty plate and putting it in the sink. 

“It’s Eddie.” He said, frowning again, and Richie smirked before leaning against the counter and folding his arms. 

“You really don’t like ‘Eds’, huh? How come?” 

“It’s not my name.” Eddie said.

“Neither’s Eddie, it’s a nickname, right?”

“Well no it’s just-”

“Short for Edward or Edmund, I know.” Richie teased. “I think its Edward, but you may be that unlucky to be called Edmund. I won’t judge.”

“My name is not Edmund!” Eddie snapped and Richie snorted.

“Okay, Edmund. You gonna shower or what? We have some exploring to do!” Richie threw his arms up and cheered as Eddie slowly, and reluctantly, got up from table and headed upstairs. He told Richie he would give him a spare towel and that he could use one of the new toothbrushes from his mother’s medicine cabinet, but only after he made him promise not to touch anything his room; “Just sit still, okay? Don’t move.”

“Sir, yes sir!” Richie had saluted, and Eddie ran to the bathroom before he could start talking again. When he was washing his hair, using the apple scented shampoo his mother had got for him last week, Eddie wondered why the hell he was so calm this morning about Richie still being here. Last night he had told Bill and Stan he would be getting Richie out of the house as soon as he could and tell him to find somewhere else to sleep. But clearly that hadn’t happened, the kid was sitting one room away from him. 

Eddie groaned and rested his head on the bathroom wall, letting the water wash over him. He had started to feel bad, that was obvious, the kid made him breakfast for fuck sake! And here he was bitching about him all night. Maybe he should start being a little nicer, more for Beverly and Bill’s sake than the others, but just so he didn’t seem like a total jackass. Eddie shook his head and rinsed out the shampoo. He didn’t know, maybe he could deal with Richie for one more day and then that would be it. The likelihood of Richie staying in Derry was small if he saw how boring and dull the place really was. Just because Eddie and his friends were there didn’t mean Richie actually wanted to live there, did it?

Eddie stepped out of the shower and wrapped a clean towel around his waist, securing it at his hip before brushing his teeth. He stared at himself in the mirror as he did so, taking in his tired eyes and sad look. He didn’t want to be a rude host, but he didn’t know Richie. He had only met him once and the kid was already sleeping over? This wasn’t Eddie, it just wasn’t. But then, he thought to himself, where else could Richie really go? He had no money, and Eddie sure as hell didn’t have any to give him, in order to get a hotel room and he didn’t seem to have any family around here. Could Eddie seriously let Richie sleep in a tree for the rest of his life? 

Eddie spat out the toothpaste, cleaned his brush, put it back in the little holder, and looked at himself again. 

“Fuck.” He whispered, then walked out the room. In his bedroom, Richie was sat on Eddie’s bed, fiddling with the hem of his pyjama pants, when Eddie realised how ridiculous he looked in them. He really was a lot bigger than Eddie remembered, and his gangly limbs made the clothes look like they’d shrunk. 

“Oh, you’re done.” Richie smiled, looking up at him. He then noticed Eddie’s bare chest and nodded at him. “And you’re not as skinny as I thought you’d be.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “What? You’re not!”

“Just got take a shower.” Eddie said, rummaging through his drawers to find some clothes. Richie didn’t say anything, but Eddie heard him move around the room to get the spare towel before moving to the front door.

“And, just so you know, you’re certainly a sight for sore eyes.” Eddie whipped his head round just to see Richie walk out the room. His face was red again, and he hated it. He rubbed at his cheeks and shook his head.

“He’s just being an ass, ignore him.” He whispered to himself before shutting the door and waiting for the water to run before changing. He didn’t want Richie wandering back in only to see him naked. God forbid. He threw on a red shirt and some jeans, before grabbing his sneakers from the corner of his room and typing them up, and eventually sat down on his bed to wait for Richie. Then he remembered Richie’s clothes were still in the dryer and he hurried downstairs to get them, trudging back up the stairs only a minute later to hear the shower being turned off. Just before Eddie could walk into his room, the bathroom door swung open, steam pouring out of it, before Richie leaned out.

“Oh, hey! You got my clothes, I was gonna ask where they were!” Richie grinned and wandered over to Eddie in just a towel that he had hold of around his hips. Eddie blinked, frozen in the hallway, as Richie came up to him, smelling exactly like his shower gel and apple shampoo, and Richie cocked his head slightly when he realised Eddie was so quiet. “You okay?”

“Um, yeah fine. Here.” He held out Richie’s clean clothes before scurrying off to his bedroom, leaving Richie alone in the hallway. He bit his lip and chuckled to himself before heading back into the bathroom to change. 

“Cute.” 

 

***

 

“And that’s the library, which Ben basically lives in.” Bev teased, pinching Ben’s cheek as the group of teenagers wandered past the old building. Ben shrugged her off but smiled nonetheless, and they carried on down the street. Richie was up front with Bev on his left hand side, who had given him the biggest smile he had ever seen when she saw him walking down the road with Eddie stumbling behind him. Speaking of, Eddie was on his right, shivering slightly as the cold breeze started to get to him. It had been so nice and warm earlier, why did it have to get cold out after he had left the house with a jacket? 

“Derry’s cool.” Richie said, looking around at the town and the people walking about. “Nicer than most of the places I’ve been too.”

“Like what?” Mike asked from behind him. Richie turned so he was walking backwards in order to talk to him properly. 

“I went to Vegas once. The people there are weird.”

“You’ve been to Las Vegas?” Ben exclaimed. “But you’re only like, sixteen!”

“Seventeen, actually.” Richie pointed out. “Skipped a couple grades when I was younger.”

“W-w-where else have you b-b-buh-been?” Bill asked with a curious look. Richie shrugged.

“Lots of place. Went to New York at one point, Atlanta in Georgia, Ohio, almost went to Death Valley.”

“Cool.” Ben beamed.

“It’s anything but cool, Ben.” Richie joked and the others laughed, except for Eddie who was really wishing he was actually in Death Valley so he didn’t fucking freeze to death. Richie noticed his body tensing up every few seconds and he thought for a second, before swiftly taking off his denim jacket and throwing it over Eddie’s shoulder, all of this being done backwards. Eddie was startled and nearly threw the jacket off, but saw Richie smiling at him and his mouth fell open. “You looked cold. Besides, you washed it, so you can’t make the excuse you’ll get dirty.” Richie said jokingly and Eddie hesitantly pulled it over his arms, wrapping himself up in the jacket. He was completely engulfed in it, and Richie let out an aw at the sight. The jacket had been huge on Richie, so it was hilarious to see Eddie being swallowed by it. 

“Suits you.” Bev said and Eddie side eyed her. 

“Thank you, Richie.” Eddie muttered and he felt a pat on his back from Stanley. Eddie was finally starting to play nice for once. Richie was about to respond, when he bumped into something and stumbled, trying to collect himself just as he heard Stan gasp. Richie frowned, then turned to see who had run into, only to be met by small, wild eyes glaring down at him. 

“Watch where you’re fucking going!” The boy spat, and Richie flinched slightly at the anger in the kids eyes. He was probably only a couple years older than him, not even that, but he looked older. 

“Sorry, Henry.” Ben said quickly, coming to Richie’s rescue. “We were just-”

“Getting in my way is what you were doing!” Henry Bowers retorted, looking Ben up and down. “Don’t make excuses for your friends, Tits. You know that doesn’t end well.”

“What did you just call him?” Richie said harshly, getting in Bowers face. Henry almost looked taken aback, not expecting someone, especially a stranger, to get this close to him.

“Who the fuck are you anyway? More trailer trash like Marsh? Certainly look it.” Henry motioned to Richie’s ripped up clothes and snorted. “Did you crawl your way out of the sewers or did these little faggots help you?”

“Don’t call them that!” Richie spat, squaring up to Henry and glaring at him. Eddie and the others watched in shock as Henry’s nostrils flared and his fists clenched. 

“Richie, don’t!” Bev warned, trying to pull him away from Henry. “He’s not worth it, come on!”

“You’re gonna let him talk to you like that? Seriously?” Richie questioned her, shaking her arm away. “No. Apologise to them.” Henry started cackling with laughter, grabbing his stomach and looking at each other kids individually.

“Is this guy for real? Who the hell do you think you are, new kid?” Henry then shoved Richie hard in the chest, sending him flying back into Eddie and Mike, who caught him without a moment’s hesitation. Henry laughed again before spitting at Richie’s feet and walking away, shoving his hands into his pockets. Richie growled and pulled himself from Mike and Eddie’s grasp, storming back up to Henry as the group behind him yelled him to stop. 

“Go blow your Dad, you mullet wearing asshole!” Richie yelled and shoved Henry to the ground. Eddie thought he saw time freeze as Henry lay on the ground, Richie standing over him, looking like a hero in one of his old comic books he used to read when he was younger. He looked tall, strong, he looked amazing. But then time started again and Henry dragged him to the ground with him by his ankles.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Henry screamed throwing his body over Richie’s and pinning him to the ground. Richie struggled, wrestling with Henry’s flailing hands as he tried to throw punches. The kids were on Henry in seconds, trying to drag him off so he didn’t hurt Richie too much, but Richie was already managing to kick Henry off and onto the floor again. Bill and Mike managed to grab Henry’s arms and shove him to the side, Eddie and Beverly grabbing Richie and dragging him up, Eddie just noticing a cut on Richie’s lip and one above his left eyebrow from where he had hit the ground. 

“Go, go, GO!” Eddie yelled at the others who all started bolting back down the street, wanting to get as far from Henry as they possibly could. They could hear him behind them, screaming and threatening them with every curse word imaginable, but eventually his voice faded to nothing as they neared their neighborhood. Bill’s house was the closest, so led them all inside, slamming the door shut once they were all behind him. Eddie and Bev took Richie into the kitchen to look at his cuts, and Richie carefully sat himself in one of the chairs at the dining table. He grunted, his back aching and sore from being dragged down, as Eddie searched Bill’s first aid kit for something to clean his cut. Bev sat next to him, rubbing his back gently to try and make him feel better, and he smiled at her as the others crowded into the kitchen as well.

“Are y-y-you okay?” Bill asked, walking up to him. “Henry p-p-pulled you down p-pre-pretty hard.”

“Nah, I’m good.” Richie said, trying not to wince as he sat up in the chair, the hard wooden back pressing against his spine. “Never been better.”

“What you did was crazy, dude!” Mike said, not being able to stop himself from grinning. “You took down Henry Bowers! No one’s been able to do that!”

“Because no one’s that insane.” Stanley pointed out, arms folded against his chest. His tone was sarcastic but his face was gentle and concerned, and Richie was thankful. 

Eddie finally found what he was looking for and bent down so he was eye level with Richie, dabbing an alcohol-free wipe on his eyebrow. Richie hissed in pain, and Bev patted his shoulder as Eddie carried on cleaning the cut.

“It was stupid.” Eddie said quietly as the others started to fawn over what happened in the background. “Pushing him. Henry could have killed you.”

“I doubt that.” Richie smiled, watching Eddie’s concentrated face as he then put a band aid on Richie’s forehead to keep the wound clean. 

“Yeah, well.” Eddie sighed, moving to Richie’s lip. “Don’t try and find out.”

“Worried I’ll get my ass kicked, Eds?” Richie raised his good eyebrow at him. Eddie rolled his eyes.

“I know you wuold. And I don’t want to have to keep bandaging your wounds.”

“I didn’t realise you cared that much about me.” Richie said, and his tone caught Eddie off guard. He looked down at him, and realised Richie was being serious. No jokes, no laughs. He meant that. Eddie cleared his throat and patted Richie’s lip to dry it off.

“They’ll be gone in a few days.” He said, standing up. “Just keep them clean and don’t take the band aid off.”

“Thanks, Dr Eddie.” Richie said, winking at him. There was the teasing again. Eddie opened his mouth to respond, but he gave up and threw away the wipe, turning to the others. 

“Well, we’re all gonna be Henry Bowers personal punching bags from now on, so what can we do that doesn’t involve going outside?” Stan, Ben, Mike and Bill all stopped talking and turned to face Eddie, all wondering the same thing. Bev bit her lip, not entirely sure what to suggest, but none of them had to say anything as Richie was already getting to his feet.

“Screw that guy! If he gives you anymore trouble, just shout. I’ll knock him down a few pegs.”

“Richie, that’s a bad idea.” Ben said. “Henry Bowers isn’t usually by himself, he has friends who hate us just as much.”

“Yeah, t-they all p-puh-pick on us.” Bill continued. Richie frowned.

“Are you guys really that scared of them?” They all nodded. Richie sighed. “Look, they’re assholes. They can’t control your lives anymore, you’re all sixteen! Except for Eddie, obviously.” Richie smiled at him, and Eddie looked away before he could feel his face go pink. “You are the only ones who can tell yourselves what to do, not them. So, from now, you all have to swear not to be intimidated by them.”

“Richie-” Bev tried to say but Richie shook his head.

“I know we’ve just me, but I like you guys. You’re the only people who have showed me some sort of kindness in months. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, so now I want to do something for you.” They were all silent, hanging onto every word. Even Eddie. Maybe especially Eddie. “You can’t be scared anymore. Be brave. He’s just some dumb teenager! He’s not a monster! He can be beaten back too.”

“You really think us standing up to him would even work?” Stanley asked, and Richie grinned at him. 

“Stan the Man, anything is possible when you work together.” Stan let a small smile appear on his lips and from across the room, Beverly smiled too.

“Okay, Richie. We’ll try.” 

“Swear?” 

“Swear.” She said. Richie looked at the others as they all nodded in agreement, before finally looking at Eddie.

“What do you say, Eds? You wanna change your life too?” Richie asked, looking at him with hope in his eyes. Eddie looked at the ground, squeezed his eyes shut, and sighed.

“Okay.” He said quietly, looking back at Richie, the boy who had completely thrown his life upside down after only a few days of knowing him. “I swear.” And he meant it.


	5. Wet T-shirt Contest

Bill’s living room had been transformed into a fort within minutes of him suggesting they all stay over for the night. He didn’t want anyone walking home with an angry Henry Bowers around, so this time he’d have everyone stay in one place so they were safe. At first, Richie declined, saying that he needed to get back to his tree incase a squirrel had made a nest in his bed - only half jokingly - but Bill was persistent.

“Y-y-you can’t stay in that t-truh-tree forever, Richie.” He said, as Richie helped him hang blankets over the couch and over the television. “You n-nuh-nuh-need a proper place to stay.”

“You’ll be the first person to tour my mansion Billy Boy.” Richie grinned. “But for now, the forest is the only home I need.”

“You could share with Eddie again.” Stanley said as he walked into the room carrying a bunch of pillows. “He didn’t seem too upset this morning.”

“No, he didnt, did he.” Richie chuckled. “I thought I was gonna be thrown out before I even woke up.”

“He’s r-ruh-really not that b-b-bad. Just c-cautious.” Bill said, stepping back to admire their handywork when everything was secure.

“He’s wary around his Mother. She’s crazy.”

“Crazy?” Richie frowned. Bill and Stan nodded.

“Always giving him pills to take at certain times of the day, locking him in the house for days on end when he starts coughing, thinking he’s really sick.” Stan listed. “He’s been in the hospital more times than any of us combined.”

“Is he that clumsy?” Richie snorted. Bill shook his head sadly.

“No. His m-mu-mom wants him to be safe, especially w-w-when he hangs out with us. She h-hates all of us.”

“Thinks we’re bad influences on her precious, Eddie bear.” Stan pretended to gag and Richie cackled.

“Please tell me that’s what she calls him.” Richie pleaded and the boys all howled with laughter when Bill nodded. None of them noticed Eddie and Bev walk in, and they both raised their eyebrows at the sight.

“What are you guys talking about?” Beverly asked, setting down the tray of snacks she had gotten from the kitchen.

“Oh, nothing Beverly dear.” Richie said, taking a chip from one of the bowls in front of her and grinning. He then looked up at Eddie, who was carrying blankets and some more snacks. “You need a hand?” Richie asked, noticing Eddie wobbling a bit under the weight.

“I’ve got it.” Eddie said, and started to walk over to the couch, only to trip over Bill’s discarded shoe. Richie reached his arms out and grabbed him by the waist before he could go crashing to the ground, and Eddie turned around to face him, squeaking slightly at how close the two were.

“You sure you don’t need some help?” Richie smirked and Eddie gulped before standing up straight and moving away from him.

“No. Thanks. I got it.” He put the blankets down on the couch and made sure no one could see the redness of his face. The others all gave each other sly looks behind his and Richie’s back before calling Ben and Mike down from upstairs. They had both raced each other to the toilet and had been taking ages, probably discussing something to do with their history project again. That, or Ben was babbling on about Bev again. Mike usually got to hear the worst of it, poor guy.

“So, what are watching first?” Richie asked, moving to sit in front of the couch as Bill wandered over to his parents video cabinet.

“Something scary!” Bev grinned, just as Ben and Mike rushed downstairs.

“Please no.” Stan said nervously, glancing at Bill and shaking his head. Bill thought for a moment before scanning through the videos, tapping his chin for added effect.

“We could watch Back to the Future?” Ben suggested, but everyone groaned. “What?!” He exclaimed, sitting on the armchair. “It’s a great movie!”

“We’ve watched it every single time we’ve had a sleepover, B.” Mike pointed out, taking the spot beside Ben’s leg.

“Friday the 13th?” Beverly suggested and Stan glared at her.

“No horror movies, Beverly!”

“O-okay! Shut up!” Bill called out just as Stan and Bev started arguing. “How about the G-guh-guh-goonies?” Everyone perked up at that. Except for Richie.

“What’s a goonie?” He asked, and Eddie gasped from where he was perched on the sofa behind him.

“You’ve never seen The Goonies?!” He spluttered and Richie smiled slightly at the look on his face. Utter horror.

“I kind of don’t have a TV, Eds.” Richie pointed, and Eddie shut his mouth quickly, not wanting to say anything else. Me and my big mouth, he thought to himself as the others started settling down and getting snacks for themselves, of course he couldn’t watch movies like any other normal kid. How could he? Richie noticed the weird look on Eddie’s face and turned around just as Bill started setting up the VHR player, and poked Eddie’s knee. “Hey. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I joke about that stuff all the time.”

“I…” Eddie trailed off, not knowing what to say to him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I chose this life, I’m happy with it. Don’t ever be sorry for me, okay?” Richie smiled kindly, and Eddie tried to smile back, but he was too focused on what he had said to concentrate. How had he chosen this kind of lifestyle? Who chooses to be homeless? Who even was Richie Tozier…

“Mike, pass the chips!” Bev asked from across the room where her and Bill were sat. Mike tossed them over, spilling some over Richie’s lap, and cursed.

“Shit, dude, I’m sorry-”

“Hey, free chips!” Richie cheered and started munching down as the others laughed at him. Even Eddie cracked a smile.

Once the film started playing, everyone started to calm down and watch the film, Richie especially since he had never seen it. He laughed louder than anyone at the jokes and even leaned forward slightly at the intense chase scenes between the kids and the adults. He was loving every second of it, and was completely enthralled by what was on the screen. During the halfway point, Bill paused the tape and quickly announced a bathroom break, which everyone bar Richie, Eddie and Mike agreed to, Mike being passed out already, Eddie being too comfortable, and Richie wanting a smoke break instead.

“Seriously?” Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow at him as Richie placed a cigarette between his lips and grabbed his zippo from his back pocket.

“I’m going outside, chill Kaspbrak.” He said, and wandered over to Bill’s back yard, shutting the door behind him and waving at Eddie through the glass. Just for extra annoyance. Eddie huffed and sat back into the sofa, munching on some popcorn and wondering why he was starting to feel a weird feeling in his gut. He was fine a few seconds ago, so what changed?

Bev came back down the stairs first, and bounded over to the couch, plopping herself down at Eddie’s feet and making him jump slightly. She smiled at him before stealing some of his popcorn and resting her feet beside his.

“So, changed your mind yet?”

“On what?” Eddie frowned.

“Richie. You still think he’s some dirty hobo?” Bev asked, leaning against the arm of the couch. Eddie flinched, remembering the words he had used to describe Richie only a few days ago.

“I guess he’s not that dirty.” He muttered. Bev chuckled.

“You like him. Good, he’s cool.” She said, sighing and resting an arm behind her head. Eddie sat up slightly and looked at her, noticing the dopey smile on her face that she only used around Bill or Ben.

“Do you…like him, Bev?” Eddie asked hesitantly, his stomach twisting in knots as she whipped her head around to look at him.

“What?”

“I-I mean-”

“Oh, no!” She laughed, but then shushed herself when she remembered Mike was fast asleep. She shook her curls out and smiled at Eddie. “Not like that, no. Why do you ask?”

“I…never mind.” Eddie shrugged her off, looking back at the screen, then allowed his eyes to drift over to the back door where he could see Richie smoking, leaning against the wall and looking up at the sky. Then Bev made a surprised sound and Eddie looked back at her. “You alright?”

“Do you like Richie?” She whispered, leaning forward and Eddie’s eyes bulged out of his head.

“The fuck, Beverly!” He hissed, not wanting Mike to hear any of this ridiculousness. “Why would you say that?”

“You asked me!” Bev pointed out. “Besides, you seemed worried when you asked and you get all weird and red around him-”

“I do not!”

“You actually let him stay over at your house, and you NEVER let anyone stay in your house.”

“He’s homeless.” Eddie argued. “Would you have rather I left him out on the street?” Bev smirked.

“You know, a couple days ago I would have been saying that to you. You hated him. Now look at you, sitting right next to him without a care in the world.” Eddie scoffed and moved away from her, putting his feet on the floor and standing up to stretch.

“You’re insane. I don’t like guys.”

“It’s okay if you do-”

“Yeah, well. I don’t, so drop it!” He snapped unintentionally, and Bev shut her mouth before pressing her back against the couch and nodding slowly.

“Okay, Eddie. Sorry.” She mumbled, putting some popcorn in her mouth. Eddie started to feel bad, but he didn’t want to say anything else, so he wandered into the kitchen to get some water. He fumbled for a glass and almost dropped it because his hands were so sweaty. He cursed under his breath then ran the water, letting the glass fill all the way before downing half of it in one go.

“Woah, slow down! You’re not a camel.” A voice said from behind him and Eddie spluttered, water dribbling down his chin and onto his shirt, soaking the top of it. Richie winced at the sight and instantly rushed over as Eddie started to cough violently. “Shit! I didn’t mean to sneak up on ya!”

“I-i-inha-ha-” Eddie tried to say, but the coughing wouldn’t stop, so instead he pointed to the fanny pack around his waist. Richie frowned but then unzipped it to find a stash of pills, some medical tape, band aids, and a light blue inhaler. He popped the cap off, shook it, then pressed it to Eddie’s lips. He nodded at Eddie, who nodded back, then pressed the button. Eddie sucked in and closed his eyes, letting the medicine fill his lungs. Richie pushed the button again, and Eddie sighed, moving his head back so the inhaler wasn’t in his mouth anymore, and leaned against the counter. Richie watched him curiously, wondering if he was okay, and slowly Eddie’s breathing started to go back to normal.

“Jesus, are you okay?” Richie asked once Eddie seemed to calm down.

“Never, ever, do that again.” He wheezed and Richie nodded.

“Shit, sure, I’ll announce myself every time I come into a room, I promise.” Richie said, and at first Eddie was going to flip him off for being a sarcastic asshole, but then he saw the genuine look of guilt in his eyes, and he stopped himself.

“You don’t need to do that.” Eddie said with a sigh. “Just…forget it.” He put the glass in the sink and rubbed his face, only then realising the water covering his chin. He looked down and saw the giant patch of water on his chest and he groaned. Christ, of course Richie had to see him dribble over himself like a fucking baby. “Great, now I gotta ask Bill for a spare shirt. Fuck.” Eddie grumbled to himself, moving towards the door. A hand on his chest stopped him, however, and he looked up to see Richie smiling his signature lopsided grin.

“Don’t bother. Just take mine.” Richie put Eddie’s inhaler back into his fanny pack and reached for the hem of his shirt. Eddie panicked, his cheeks going pink as he saw the sliver of Richie’s lower stomach appear from underneath his black shirt, and instantly grabbed Richie’s hands and yanked them down.

“No, don’t!” Eddie said, and Richie frowned.

“But you’re wet?” Richie pointed out and Eddie only felt himself go pinker.

“I-Bill will be fine lending me a shirt. Besides, you don’t have anything else to wear! Just your…jacket.” Eddie swallowed the lump in his throat, and tried to ignore the image his mind suddenly portrayed of Richie just lounging about in that massive denim jacket…shirtless. What the fuck was wrong with him?

“Hey, it’s my fault you spilt the water. I’ll ask Bill for a shirt. Just take mine, okay? It’s clean!” Richie grinned, smelling under his arms for good measure. Eddie grimaced, but then realised he was still holding Richie’s hands, and looked down at them. Richie’s were so much bigger than his, more slender too, and he only then felt how warm they were…

“Sorry.” Eddie muttered, yanking his hands away and putting them behind his back. Richie laughed slightly, and took a step back.

“Don’t be sorry, remember?” Richie then proceeded to hoist his shirt over his head, flipping his head back up once it was off and shaking his hair out. Eddie just stood there, dumbstruck. He had seen the other boys shirtless countless of times, hell, he’d seen Bev in her underwear at the quarry only last weekend. Yet, he never felt weird when they were shirtless. Richie wasn’t muscular, not at all, but he was toned and slender, nothing like Eddie expected. Not that he had imagined him without a shirt before.

His stomach fluttered slightly and he felt his mouth go dry and for some reason he couldn’t tear his eyes away…so he just stood there. And Richie secretly loved every fucking moment of it. “Cat got your tongue, Eds?” Richie said quietly, so only Eddie could hear. The boys met eyes, and Richie looked like he was about to say something else, when Bill and Stan wandered in.

“What’s going on?” Stan asked, looking between the two boys as if he were their parent and they’d broken a vase. He then nodded at Eddie. “And what happened to your shirt?” Eddie looked away from Richie and stared at the floor, his cheeks burning, whilst Richie grinned at him and walked over to Bill.

“My dear Bill, do you possibly have a shirt I could borrow for the night? I accidentally got Eddie soaking wet and he’s gonna take mine whilst it washes.” Richie beamed, and Bill could only blink at him in confusion. He then glanced over at Eddie, who sheepishly smiled back, before nodding his head.

“S-suh-sure, Richie. Come with me.” The three boys then all turned to Eddie, who froze.

“Give me your s-s-shirt, and I’ll w-wuh-wash it for you, Eds.” Bill said, reaching his hand out. Eddie’s eyes widened and he looked at Richie as if by instinct. He had to take his shirt off…in front of Richie Tozier?!

“I’ll…uh…I’ll change in the bathroom.” Eddie blurted out before grabbing Richie’s shirt from his hand and storming past them, sprinting up the stairs and out of sight. For a moment, the three boys didn’t say anything, then Bill and Stan turned to Richie, who was grinning in the direction Eddie had just gone. When he saw them looking, he grinned.

“Ain’t he just the cutest?”

Upstairs, Eddie was trying not to use his inhaler again. He was pacing the bathroom, gripping his hair and slapping his face, as if he was trying to wake himself up from a nightmare. Well, by the way the night was going, he wouldn’t be that surprised if it actually was one.

“Get a hold of yourself!” He growled before looking up at the mirror and glaring at his reflection. “He’s just some kid, stop freaking out when he’s around!” Eddie gripped the sink for dear life, before inhaling, exhaling, repeating, and finally letting go. He glanced over at the bathtub, where he had thrown Richie’s shirt the moment he locked the bathroom door. Eddie tentatively picked it up, and looked it over in his hands. It was the only shirt Eddie had ever seen the kid wear, but he knew it was clean and it still smelt like his mother’s laundry detergent. But it also smelt like Richie. Eddie wrinkled his nose. What was he even saying?!

Eddie sighed and shrugged his own shirt off, putting it nearly on the toilet seat, before slipping Richie’s on. It was huge, and went right over his hips and stopped at the top of his thigh. He glanced in the mirror and couldn’t help but stare in shock. He didn’t wear black, ever, it wasn’t his colour. But for some reason it looked okay. The sleeves were halfway down his bicep and he had to roll them up a few times just so they weren’t too baggy. He sniffed, rubbing his hands down his face, and froze as he heard his watch alarm start to beep. His pills. He opened his fanny pack after tucking his damp shirt under his arm and made his way downstairs, shoving the two 7:30pm pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry. He was so used to it by now that the dryness of the capsules never even made him flinch.

He walked back to the hallway where he saw Bill and Stan talking, and he smiled shyly before handing Bill his shirt. Eddie watched as both of the boy’s eyes widened as they took in his appearance, and he frowned.

“What are you staring at?” He asked defensively, and Stan snorted.

“First his jacket, now his shirt. It’s like you’re dating.” Stan said teasingly and walked away as Eddie’s mouth gaped like a fish. Bill laughed under his breath but cleared his throat and composed himself when Eddie whipped round to give him the stink eye.

“I’ll put in the w-wuh-washer for you.” He said, holding the shirt up. “The film’s started again so, g-grab a seat qu-quick.” Bill then walked off, leaving Eddie in the hallway alone, and he sighed. This night was not going as he had initially planned.

Eddie was about to go back into the living room as Bill suggested, but paused when he saw Richie pop his head around the corner and turn to him. He smiled, and moved so his entire frame was in Eddie’s vision, before leaning against the archway leading from the kitchen into the living room. Eddie noticed he was wearing Bill’s old red and black checked shirt, and he liked how it looked on him. Which he mentally slapped himself for thinking.

“Thought I’d make myself known in case you choke again.” Richie said. “My good looks have that effect on people.” He said. Eddie scoffed.

“Please don’t joke about nearly giving me an asthma attack.” Eddie groaned.

“Sorry, and I promise never to do that to you again. I’ll be more careful next time.” Richie promised, smiling at him. Then he looked Eddie up and down, a habit of his apparently, and his smile grew wider.

“Damn, and I thought pink was your colour. Turns out you look just as good as I do in black, Kaspbrak.” Eddie felt his stomach flutter again at Richie’s words and he cleared his throat.

“Uh, thanks. I’ll wash your shirt and give it back to you tomorrow.”

“I would say keep it but…it is the only one I own.” Richie laughed, and he turned to go back to the living room, when something that had been lingering in the back of Eddie’s mind managed to escape from his mouth.

“Has Bill said you can sleep here?” He choked out, and Richie looked back at him.

“No, why?” Richie then seemed to realise something and nodded. “Your mom, I get it. Can’t stay on your bedroom floor forever, that’s fine.”

“No it’s not…” Eddie trailed off and licked his lips before nervously looking at the floor. “I mean, if he hasn’t…if the others haven’t…you can stay with me. Again. In my house.” Richie’s face went blank, and at first Eddie thought he had imagined every nice thing Richie had said to him, as if Richie was going to laugh in his face and call him a loser. But he didn’t. Instead, a blush crept up Richie’s neck, across his cheeks, and over his nose. Richie, for the first time since he met him at the beginning of the week, looked utterly speechless.

“Really?” He asked, not entirely sure if he had heard Eddie correctly or not. “What would your Mom say about you having a boy in your room?” Eddie felt his hands get sweaty at that thought, and he clenched them.

“Not in my room, she’d find you and freak out. But, we have some old furniture in the basement, a couch and some shelves and blankets…it’s not a five star hotel but…it’s yours, if you want it.” Richie didn’t say anything for a long time. And Eddie watched with baited breath as he slowly walked up to him, showing off how much taller he was than him, and looked down into his eyes.

“You’d really do that for me?” Richie asked, and Eddie detected a hint of nervousness in his voice. He was nervous? Eddie was sweating buckets just by being in the same hallway as him.

“Yeah. Beats sleeping in that forest again, right?” Eddie tried to laugh, but it came out strangled. Thankfully, however, it made Richie laugh. He looked at his feet, then back at Eddie and licked his lips.

“Thank you, Eddie. Seriously. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s done for me.”

“It…it’s just a basement.” Eddie shrugged.

“It’s better than where I’ve been sleeping the past few years.” Richie said, and grinned, before wrapping an arm around Eddie’s small shoulders. “Now, come on roommate! We have a film to watch!” Richie then dragged Eddie back into the living room with him, plopping himself down on the floor whilst Eddie took back his place on the couch next to Beverly who, like Stan and Bill, raised an eyebrow at the new shirt. Eddie shrugged at her and she bit back a shit eating grin.

Oh, the questions she had for Eddie now.


	6. Dollar Bills

“I can’t believe your Mom doesn’t go down here, it’s awesome!” Richie was stood in the centre of Eddie’s basement, staring at the walls littered with old photos and paintings belonging to one of Eddie’s many Aunts, the shelves littered around filled with nic-nacs and random pieces of junk that Sonia Kaspbrak didn’t want upstairs in her nice, clean house. The basement was huge, seeing as it was the same dimensions as the ground floor of the house, and it had two couches, a coffee table, a small mini fridge that Sonia had been given as a birthday gift - “She’s never used it,” Eddie had told him “She thinks it's pointless but my Grandad got it for her so she had to say yes.” - there was even a little TV propped up in the corner collecting dust. 

And it was all gonna be Richie’s.

“Yeah, well. It’s dusty and dirty down here. She doesn’t want to bring germs up into the house. And besides, if I’m down here for too long my asthma kicks in.” Eddie said, clearing his throat slightly and trying not to breath in too heavily through his mouth. He didn’t need Richie to see him nearly pass out from choking. Again. 

“So, she won’t come down here ever? Not even to get something she needs?” Richie asked. Eddie shook his head.

“She has everything she needs upstairs.”

“And she won’t hear me?”

“Not if you stay quiet.” Eddie raised his eyebrow at him, and Richie grinned.

“Quiet as a mouse, you have my word, Eddie bear.”

“Oh, ew!” Eddie cringed. “Don’t call me that!”

“Why, I thought you liked that name?” Richie said, a small smirk at the corner of his lips. “I know you don’t mind it when Mommy calls you it.” Eddie’s eyes bulged.

“I’m gonna kill Stanley.” Richie chuckled and then turned to face the rest of the room again. He shrugged off his denim jacket and threw it over one of the couches before heading over to the mini fridge. Eddie squeaked and rushed over, grabbing the jacket and brushing off any dust. He glared at Richie before carefully hanging it on a wall hook beside one of the larger shelves. 

“You know, I think this thing could actually work.” Richie said, more to himself than to Eddie, and reached behind it to try and plug the fridge in. Eddie watched as a bright light burst from inside it and Richie patted the fridge gently. “Perfecto!”

“You don’t have any money, what are you even gonna put in there?” Eddie asked with a frown. Richie hesitated for a second, then stood and looked over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about that, Kaspbrak.” He said. “You just worry about what you’re having for dinner instead.” Eddie blinked at him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Eddie, I’m homeless. I have been since I could walk.” Richie said, facing him properly before moving closer to him. “This is the first time I’ve actually had a roof over my head that wasn’t close to collapsing or that wasn’t someone’s garage that I had to break into. This is real.” Eddie stared at him, and didn’t realise how close Richie was until his body started shivering and goose pimples ran up and down his arms and legs. It was like his body had the same, weird, reaction every time Richie was close to him, or he said something that made Eddie angry. Or blush. And he didn’t understand why. Richie looked at the floor for a moment and sighed. “How do you think I found these clothes?” He asked Eddie. “Where do you think I got all that junk food Bev found?”

“I...I don’t know.” Eddie said nervously. Richie was freaking him out, his voice was quieter and more sensitive than his usual loud, brash tone. And Eddie didn’t like it. 

“I stole them, Eddie.”

“Stole them? Why would-”

“You said so yourself, I don’t have any money!” Richie exclaimed before Eddie could start rattling on about the difference between right and wrong. “Look, I get it. It’s bad. I steal shit from people because I have to, Eddie, not because I want to. I don’t want to be that bad guy. But what else can I do?” Eddie didn’t know what to say. He knew Richie was right deep down, he had nothing to buy food or clothes with, he just had to survive on instinct and that was really what being human was. But Eddie still shook his head, and folded his arms.

“No.” 

Richie frowned at him. “No?”

“You’re not stealing anything.” Eddie said sternly. “Not in my house, not in this town, not ever, do you understand!” Richie snorted and shook his head as he looked down at Eddie.

“You don’t get it-”

“No, you don’t get it!” Eddie cried, getting angry at him. “You can’t steal from people! You CAN’T! I won’t let you!”

“Then how am I supposed to eat, Eddie?!” Richie said angrily, his temper started to bubble under his skin. “What the fuck am I supposed to do?!” Eddie paused and then stormed over to one of the walls of the basement, moving some half opened cardboard boxes that his mother had used when they first moved here. “What are you doing?” Richie asked in an exasperated tone as Eddie reached behind some more boxes, then a few clicks could be heard, and something opened. Richie tried to see, and just managed to catch view of a small, black safe on the floor.

Eddie stood up after a moment, looking at something his hand, and Richie heard him mutter something under his breath. He spun around to face him and Richie nearly fainted at what was in his hand. A wad of cash was then thrust his way. Richie stared at, not moving, and then at Eddie.

“Take it.” Eddie nodded, his voice a little annoyed, and Richie cocked his head.

“You want me to take that? How much even is that, Eddie?” 

“A couple hundred bucks, maybe more. It’s savings.” Richie blinked at him and Eddie let his hand drop for a moment to explain. “Every christmas, birthday, thanksgiving, whatever, my family gives me money. They could never be bothered to get to know me, to know what I would actually want, so they just gave me cash. $20, $30, it just built up after a while. I didn’t know what to do with it so I bought a safe and it’s been here ever since.” Eddie sighed, looking down at it all. “I’ve been collecting this money since I was 10, so there’s enough to get you plenty of food, clothes, shoes, cigarettes. Whatever you want.”

Richie was frozen in his spot. “You’re giving me fucking money?” He choked out. Eddie rolled his eyes and walked over, grabbing Richie’s jacket and stuffing the money into his pocket.

“There. Before I change my mind.” 

“Have you lost your mind?!” Richie exclaimed, picking the money out and staring at it in his hands. He had never held so much money in his entire life...is that what it was like to feel normal? “You don’t even know me, Eddie.”

“If you want to bolt, take the money and just run. Then do it. I won’t stop you.” Eddie said. “But if you do, then you don’t come back.” Richie paused, looking at him with serious eyes. “I mean it. You never set foot in Derry again, in my house, near my friends. Near me. You take the money and you go somewhere else. Or,” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest. “You use it to buy yourself some new clothes with me today, as well as some food for your dinner. Because I won’t be able to sneak you food. Mom will get suspicious.”

“I...I can’t accept this, Eddie.” Richie said after a pause.

“Tough. You’re having it. That’s that.” Eddie said sternly.

“Why are you even giving this to me? Look, I know you think stealing is wrong or whatever but I’d much rather do that than take your money.” Richie said, trying to hand Eddie the notes back. Eddie literally moved away from it, shaking his head and turning his nose up.

“First of all, I don’t need it. I never buy anything anyway, there’s no point it just sitting there. And secondly, I told you you’re not stealing in this town. And I meant that.” Eddie said, giving him a stern look. “The people here aren’t all great, but they work hard to get where they are and they don’t deserve some kid robbing them for a few cans of coke.” Richie bit his lip, looking away in shame. Eddie sighed. “Sorry. It’s just...if you’re going to be living here, in my house, I want you to actually live. Not survive off of whatever instinct it is that you have. You can’t live like an animal anymore. It’s dirty and dangerous and...just take it. Okay? I don’t want it. It’s yours.”

Richie slowly shook his head, before putting the money in his pocket again. He swallowed and then let out a long, deep breath. “You are something else.” He said quietly and Eddie felt something run down his spine. It was an emotion he had never felt before, and he didn’t know how to describe it, but it felt good. He felt like he’d done something right, even if he might completely regret it tomorrow morning. 

“Now, come on. We have some shopping to do.” Eddie said, coughing slightly at the awkward silence between the two of them. He started walking towards the stairs leading back up when Richie grabbed his shoulder. Eddie looked up at him, and something changed in Richie’s face. He looked like he was conflicted about something, unsure, maybe even scared. But then he pursed his lips and wrapped his arms around Eddie’s shoulders.

“Thank you.” He whispered into Eddie’s shoulder. “You’re the best thing that could have happened to me, you know that?” Eddie nearly had an asthma attack right there. He had been hugged before, christ, what the hell was wrong with him? He nervously patted Richie’s back and pulled him back so he was arms length.

“You’re welcome. Just, promise me you won’t buy ridiculous clothes, okay?” Richie smiled then, a big, wide smile that made Eddie feel dizzy. 

“Cross my heart!” Richie then drew a little cross over his chest with his pointer finger and Eddie smiled a little.

***

“Richie, hurry up!” Eddie called into the changing room as he impatiently sat on the waiting stool. This was the fifth outfit Richie was trying on and Eddie was starting to get bored. He wanted to go home and sleep, or eat, or do homework. 

“One second!” Richie called back, and Eddie huffed before leaning against the wall. 

“How long does it take to put on a fucking shirt?” Eddie muttered and started tapping his knees. He noticed some couples wandering around the mall, holding hands, and pointing at things in the shop windows. He sighed. He had sometimes wondered what it would be like to be with somebody...like that. His mother had always told him girls were dangerous and that she was the only woman he needed. That she’d take care of him, and that he didn’t need a girl to make him feel loved.

Deep down, Eddie knew she right. Very, very right.

“Okay, whaddya think?” Richie startled him, jumping out of the changing room and in front of Eddie, getting his attention. Eddie burst out laughing the second he saw him and Richie feigned looking hurt. “Aw, come on! It’s not that bad, is it?” Eddie looked him up and down, taking in the beige khaki pants, white wife beater and the hideous pink hawaiian shirt over the top. Eddie shook his head and put his head in his hands as he laughed.

“You seriously think that’s an outfit?” He asked and Richie put his hands on his hips, only causing Eddie to laugh harder.

“I thought I looked cute!”

“You look like a tour guide!” Eddie exclaimed, pointing at each piece of the outfit. “God, that shirt is giving me a headache. Why did you choose pink?”

“It’s salmon, actually.” Richie said proudly, popping the collar and winking, and Eddie grinned.

“You look hilarious, honestly.” He said, standing up and going to Richie’s changing room. “Come on, I’ll pick you out something nice.”

“Are you gonna be my little fashion guru for the day?” Richie teased, following him to the door and leaning against it. Eddie tried not to look at his smirk and focused on rifling through the pile of clothes Richie had thrown over the small stool seat. Eddie eventually settled on darker colours, grabbing some denim jeans with rolled up cuffs at the bottom and a few loose threads and holes.

“This seems more your style.” Eddie said, handing them to Richie. “More, street rat.”

“You can’t use my homelessness to mock me, Eds. Only I can do that.” Richie said but Eddie ignored him.

“You’re not homeless anymore, technically.” Eddie grabbed a plain white shirt and black denim jacket, and smiled. This was good. He thrust them into Richie’s arms and walked out again. “Try that on!” He called before shutting the door and going back to the waiting area. He sat back down, resting his chin in his hands and staring back out at the store they were in. It was an old thrift store, Richie’s favourite kind apparently because everything was vintage, and looked at the people walking in and out. They all looked totally different, some with bright hair and punk jackets whilst some wore business suits and had gelled hair. Eddie frowned. How could a clothing store bring together such different people?

The minutes ticked by and Eddie was about to call to Richie to see if he was ready, hopefully not getting stuck in the jeans or something even more ridiculous, before he heard the grunting voice of Henry Bowers. Eddie’s head snapped up, only to see Henry and his side kick Patrick Hockstetter marching into the store. They wolf whistled at the young store assistant and then headed straight for the men's section. Eddie quietly stood up, not wanting to be seen by them, and backed up into the changing room so he was out of view of the store. He peeked his head round, seeing Henry looking through some red and black striped shirts whilst Patrick played with his lighter. 

They were both laughing about something, and Eddie heard a few girls names come up, and hr grimaced. They were such pigs, he thought, and made sure to pull his head back when they turned to move around the store. Eddie was about to turn to the changing room when he saw Patrick grab some shirts and motion for Henry to follow him. Eddie’s eyes widened and his heart started hammering against his chest as he realised they were heading straight for him. He stumbled to move backwards and ran straight to the changing room Richie was in, which was now open with him standing there looking at Eddie in confusion.

“Hey, you oka-” 

“Shut the fuck up and get in!” Eddie hissed, pushing Richie inside the little room and slamming the door shut, locking it, and moving as far from it as he could. He bit down on his lip so no scared noises could escape his lips as Henry and Patrick wandered in. 

“Eds, what are we doing?” Richie whispered, and Eddie motioned for him to be quiet. Richie frowned and tried to listen, but only heard footsteps outside. “Are we hiding right now?”

“Shut up!” Eddie whispered and Richie did once he heard the familiar voice of that shit head Henry Bowers.

“Dude, you gotta check out the girl I’m seein’ later. She’s so hot.”

“The waitress? You can do better, weren’t you hooking up with that brunette last week?” Patrick replied as he slipped into a changing room, which was right next to Eddie and Richie’s. Eddie held his breath and backed up further into the wall, and consequently further into Richie. Eddie nearly squeaked but Richie grabbed his arm, giving it a squeeze, and leaned down to shush in his ear. Eddie froze, his body shivered slightly at the feeling of Richie so close to his ear, and he prayed that Richie didn’t feel it. 

“Fuck you, as if you could better ass than me!” Henry snorted out a laugh from somewhere else in the changing rooms. Eddie and Richie heard Patrick banging about in his room, looking at the different shirts and changing his mind every few seconds.

“This store is so shit sometimes man, they never have anything good anymore. It’s all kids shit.”

“Then we’ll go somewhere else, whatever. I have more shit to try on though so just wait.” Patrick sighed in annoyance and Eddie licked his lips so they didn’t feel so dry. He was so scared that they would look over the top of the stall and see them. Patrick probably could just lean over and see, he was so tall, and Richie would be directly facing him if he did. Eddie twisted his head slightly to glance at Richie, who was still leaning near him, and the two made eye contact. 

“It’s okay.” Richie mouthed to him. “They’ll go soon.” Eddie nodded, but he could still feel his body shaking and so could Richie. So Richie reached his hand up and took Eddie’s left on into his own, rubbing the skin of his knuckles. It used to calm him down when he was younger, whether he was doing it or someone else, so he hoped that it would work on Eddie. Eddie went stiff, and he couldn’t stop staring at Richie as his other hand went to Eddie’s waist to try and stop him from moving too much. Eddie’s breath was coming out in ragged puffs and he tried to stay as quiet as possible, but the limited amount of space and that fact his hip was burning with Richie touching him made it all the more difficult to calm down. 

But then Eddie did something he didn’t think he would ever do. He felt his fingers twist in Richie’s hand until their palms were facing, and he laced his fingers with the other boys, his small, nimble fingers instantly becoming engulfed in Richie’s bigger, broader hands. Richie’s breath became ragged too, as he felt Eddie lean into him, pressing his back against his chest and hips closer to his. Richie didn’t know if Eddie actually knew what he was doing to him, but the feeling of him flush against his body was making him feel something he had never felt before.

He felt safe. He felt good. He felt...at home. 

Richie bravely leaned his head down so his nose was almost nestled in Eddie’s hair and he let out a breath, revelling in the sight of Eddie shiver and sigh. He closed his eyes, the smell of Eddie’s apple shampoo filling his senses and the sensation of Eddie holding his hand almost becoming too much for him. He didn’t know what he was doing, he was crossing a very big line here...but Eddie wasn’t pulling away. He could, he easily could, and he wouldn’t have made a sound. But he didn’t. In fact, he was nudging his head close to Richie and had even squeezed his hand. 

Richie’s eyes fluttered closed as his head slowly travelled from Eddie’s hair to his ear, then down to his neck, where he breathed out again, wanting to make Eddie shiver. And he did. Eddie bit his lip and faced forward, not being able to look at Richie anymore. It was like time itself had stopped and it was just them, together, in that tiny room. He couldn’t hear Patrick or Henry, even though they were still there, all he could hear was Richie’s breathing and the feeling of being pressed against him. And he didn’t want to move. 

Eddie’s breath hitched when he felt Richie’s lips ghost over the curve where his neck met his shoulder and he felt his soul leave his body. Is this what it was like to be with somebody? 

“Eddie…” Richie barely whispered into his skin. Eddie didn’t say anything. His voice was gone at this point, lost in the silence and the tension. “Eddie, I-”

“Fuck it, I’m done. This place is crap.” Henry said, kicking his changing room door open with a bang. The boys jumped, and Eddie let go of Richie’s hand, and jumped towards the door, listening for the other two to leave. Their heavy boots hit the floor until the sound became distant, and Eddie peeked his head out of the door, making sure they were really gone. He sighed heavily when he saw nobody outside, and pulled the door open properly. Silence filled the changing room as the realisation of what had just happened hit them both hard.

What the fuck was that? What had they just done?

“Eddie-” Richie tried to say again, but Eddie merely turned his head without looking at him.

“Are you buying that?” Eddie asked sharply. Richie clamped his mouth shut for a moment.

“Uh, yeah.” He said. Eddie nodded, then faced forward.

“I’ll...you change again. I’m gonna wait...outside. At the door, the front door. To the store. Yeah, just. Hurry.” Eddie stammered out before all but running out of the room, not looking back, and really trying to ignore the fact his entire body was now cold without Richie being near it.

***  
They didn’t talk on the way home. Richie just silently walked a few paces behind Eddie, holding his back full of groceries and new clothes, whilst Eddie walked ahead, head held high and a scowl on his face. He just wanted to go home and sleep now, he didn’t want to deal with what happened in the changing room. Not now, not ever. 

When they got home, Eddie cursed as he saw his mother’s car in the driveway, and he paused, wondering how to sneak Richie inside. He nodded at him to follow him and Richie quietly tip toed behind Eddie as he opened the door and looked inside. The water was running upstairs, and Eddie let out a sigh of relief before opening the door wider for Richie to come in. He ushered him through the house and towards the basement stairs, shoving him down and shutting the door behind him. 

“So, just turn the mini fridge on and put whatever needs to be chilled in there. Everything else can go on one of the shelves. Just keep them away from any dust or dirt.” He instructed. “I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow. I guess.” Richie could only nod at him. Eddie nodded back and then started heading back up the stairs.

“Hey, Eds?” Richie called up, and Eddie stopped on the stairs. He turned to look down at him, one hand resting on the banister, and Richie wracked his brain for something to say. “What happened, back there-”

“Nothing happened.” Eddie said firmly. “Okay? We were hiding from Henry and his asshole of a best friend. That was it.”

“Look, if you need to talk about it, I’m here. I know it’s scary-”

“Scary? What’s scary?” Eddie asked. “Nothing happened. Goodnight, Richie.” He said finally and headed back up the stairs without looking back. When the door was shut, Richie groaned and put his face in his hands.

“Stupid, stupid!” Richie grunted, smacking the side of his head. How could he have done that? He let his guard down and let his body take over. Now he and Eddie were back to square one. He hated him again. He thought that after today they were okay, that they were actually starting to become real friends. But he just had to go and screw it all up by getting too close, literally.

Richie flopped onto the couch and opened a can of coke. “Way to go, Richard.” He said to himself, taking a sip. “Way to fucking go.”


	7. Just Jump

Eddie had successfully avoided Richie for three days straight, and Richie was starting to go insane. 

He didn’t think the short, hot headed kid could get under his skin, yet here he was, grumbling to himself in the basement about wanting Eddie to come downstairs and hang out with him, or offer to go walk around Derry for a few hours, meet the others. Something, fucking anything. But Eddie seemed to have forgotten all about him down there, and Richie had felt more alone in those three days than he had his entire life. And that was saying something.

He missed him. Actually, physically missed Eddie’s presence, and he was slowly coming to terms with why. The only good thing that came out of those three days on his own was that he could figure out that he, Richie Tozier, had a crush. A big crush, and it was on the hypochondriac living upstairs. Richie felt like laughing, because it sounded so stupid. Richie didn’t like people, he didn’t like boys, he didn’t like girls. He just liked himself, kept to himself, and that was enough. But then he met Eddie.

He had spent so much time on the road that he hadn’t had a chance to make friends with people for very long, let alone a group of friends like the Losers. They were all so good to him, treating him like one of their own within days of meeting him. Bill had invited Richie to the arcade the other day because he saw him wandering down the street looking lonely from his bedroom window. He and Richie now had an arcade date planned for every Thursday after school, wanting to battle it out on Street Fighter. 

Mike and Stan were the busiest after school, but Mike had said Richie could come over to the farm whenever he wanted and help with the animals, and Richie had planned to go the next day so he could actually pet a horse for the first time. Stan bumped into him at the park the first day Eddie ignored him, and Richie ended up sitting with him in the quiet, peaceful afternoon sun as Stan bird watched. 

Richie had asked him all sorts of questions, like what the birds ate, when they came out during the year, if Stan could be any type of bird, what would it be.

“A finch.” Stan said as if he knew the answer by heart. Richie assumed he did. 

“Why?”

“They’re small. Keep to themselves. And their feathers are usually yellow, yellow is my favourite colour.” Richie thought it was the sweetest thing he’d ever heard. “You’d be a songbird, Richie. Because you’re always talking.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“It’s whatever. You’re still a songbird.”

Ben had taken Richie on a proper tour of Derry one afternoon, showing him the library that he was famous for living in, and it turns out they had comic books in there for Richie to enjoy whilst Ben read up on history and languages. Ben took him to the Quarry, saying the Losers came here to think or play in the water. Then The Barrens, and Richie smiled, remembering it as the place he first saw all of them. How Bev had noticed him first, then Eddie. Ben said that Richie was pretty bad at hiding, and Richie had splashed water at him. That resulted in an hour long water fight where they both walked home completely soaking wet. It was one of Richie’s favourite days. 

He hadn’t seen Beverly all that often, mostly because she couldn’t hang out after school everyday like the others. Her Dad was apprehensive of her hanging out with a group of boys, so when she did see Richie, it would be during school hours where she would skip her P.E lesson to go smoke under the bleachers. Richie would walk up after hopping the school fence, notice her sitting there in her white and blue Derry High top, matching blue shorts, long white socks, and smile at her. He had a fond nickname for her already, ‘My Girl’, which had made Ben go red apparently when Bev first told him. 

“Don’t worry, Ben.” Richie had promised, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, rubbing his head with his knuckles and beaming down at him. “She’s still your girl, too.”

Richie smiled, thinking back to the short amount of time he had spent with everyone, his friends. He felt happy, really happy, but there was something missing. Eddie wasn’t in those memories. He sat up from the couch and breathed in, then breathed out, and grabbed his brand new black jacket.   
He was fed up of sitting around, he was fed up of staying quiet. He was going to be honest, and honest meant getting out of that basement. Richie threw on his jacket and slid his shoes on, yanking his baseball cap over his head and then made his way to the stairs, peeking up and looking at the door leading to the rest of the house. He hadn’t heard any footsteps yet, but he was sure Mrs Kaspbrak was still home. He gulped.

He tiptoed up the basement steps, wincing whenever they creaked or groaned under his weight, and slowly opened the door leading into Eddie’s kitchen. It was deserted, the only sound he could hear was coming from the living room. At least she was distracted. But then Richie remembered the kitchen faced the living room directly, with no doors or walls separating the two, and he cursed under his breath. He had to find another way out. 

Richie inched himself away from the door, closing it quietly behind him, before taking soft steps towards the staircase that was leading away from the living room. He saw the light from the television against the living room wall and he froze, hearing the sofa creak. She was right there...she could walk round and see him at any moment. Richie prayed to every God he could think of before hopping past the gap that lead into the living room, and pressed himself against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping that she hadn’t noticed him. No more noises, just the murmur of the TV, and Richie could breathe again. 

He tilted his head round, curiosity stupidly getting the better of him, so he got a proper view of the living room, and froze when he saw Mrs Kaspbrak with her back to him, watching the TV intently and sipping a mug of hot coffee. Richie’s mouth dropped slightly. He had never seen her before, Eddie’s mother, and took in her large figure, wild curly hair, and the sound of her heavy, wheezy breathing. She sounded worse than Eddie. She was watching some sort of game show that Richie didn’t recognise, and for a brief moment he watched the screen with her. 

“Too bad, Martha! You’re not getting that grand prize today, but-” Richie frowned as Mrs Kaspbrak scoffed and shook her head, as if she was disappointed in what she was seeing, before finally moving away from the room and towards the stairs. He didn’t want to stay too long and have her see him. Eddie would kill him, or she would, either way he’d be dead. 

Richie went up the stairs quickly, two at a time, but as quietly as he possibly could, practically holding his body up by the bannisters, before creeping across the landing and towards Eddie’s bedroom. Eddie was lucky enough to have a small ledge leading out onto the roof of his house and onto the garage, giving Richie perfect access to the street without being caught. He shimmied the window open and squeezed his body through before shutting it as much as he could without trapping his fingers. He let out a long breath then, knowing he was finally able to get out of the house, before making his way to the drainpipe that run up the side of the house. The drop wasn’t very big, only a few feet, so Richie maneuvered his body down so he was hanging onto the pole with his legs dangling underneath him, before dropping onto the pavement. He was about to stan upright when he looked up and saw through the front window of the house, realising he was in direct line with Sonia Kaspbrak’s head, and he ducked down just as she turned. He practically crawled down the drive, hiding behind a bush at the end of Eddie’s drive before finally pushing himself up and onto his feet, sprinting down the street and towards the centre of Derry.

***

“Thank you for your essays, guys.” Miss Brown said to her Junior students, who all looked extremely bored even though they had barely been in her class for 15 minutes. Eddie was one of those students, and was just staring at the front of the class with his eyes half closed due to lack of sleep, and leaning his chin on his hand. 

He was exhausted after tossing and turning the past few nights instead of getting some decent sleep, and it was all Richie’s fault. He had been on Eddie’s mind since the day they went shopping, and the feeling of his hand engulfed in his and Richie’s breath over his neck was still very much there. He shivered when he thought about it, remembering the feeling of his body pressed against his and the feeling of fear slowly drifting away the more he focused on the fact that he was safe, he was with Richie. But then he would cringe, and shake his head. 

This was insane, he couldn’t like Richie in that way...he just couldn’t. He hadn’t had feelings for anyone except Greta Keene in 7th grade. She was a foot taller than him and constantly chewed gum and she had hated Beverly, so Eddie quickly nipped that in the bud before it blossomed. But thinking about it, he realised he probably didn’t even really fancy Greta. His mother had once told him how pretty she was and that had sparked something in Eddie’s mind. That must mean she wants me to like her, to date her, to marry her. Mother knows best, after all.   
Eddie scoffed to himself, switching hands so he was looking at the door. How stupid he was back then, constantly wanting his mother’s approval. He was a little wiser now, knowing his mother just wanted him to herself, that dating a girl was basically forbidden in her household. 

That’s why he couldn’t like Richie. His mother would go insane. 

But all Eddie could think about was his hair and his eyes and that stupid cut over his eyebrow and the way his face lit up every time Eddie walked into the room and his voice and the fact he was at the door and-

Eddie froze and sat up in his seat. A hand was waving at him from the door of the classroom, and he felt his heart stop.

“Richie?” He whispered to himself, not noticing the look the girl next to him gave him. What the hell was he doing here?

Richie grinned after realising Eddie was looking at him, and started beckoning him with his hand. Eddie frowned and shook his head, occasionally glancing at Miss Brown as she scribbled away on the board. Go away, Eddie mouthed, but Richie just kept waving him over. A few students had noticed and were starting to giggle at Eddie, and he went red. This dumb kid was gonna ruin his life.

Come on, Richie mouthed and Eddie bit the inside of his cheek. He looked at his teacher, then at the door, then back at the teacher, before clearing his throat loudly. Everyone turned to him, and his eyes widened. He hadn’t expected that. He noticed Richie moving away from the door the moment the teacher turned, and Eddie let out a little sigh in relief.

“Everything okay, Mr Kaspbrak?” Miss Brown asked, raising an eyebrow. Eddie knew some of the students saw Richie waving at him, they knew exactly what was about to happen. And even if that made Eddie want to curl up into a ball and never move again, he still swallowed his fear and opened his mouth.

“I have to go to the nurse’s office.” He choked out. He heard a few giggles and whispers, but blocked them out as Miss Brown frowned at him.

“Is everything okay?”

“I just...uh, ate something bad yesterday.” He said, feeling his face burning up. “Stomach ache. Bad. Need medicine.”

“Eddie-”

“Please, Miss?” Eddie begged, trying to ignore the laughs of his classmates. “I really need to be excused…” Miss Brown sighed, and Eddie added to the lie by clutching his stomach and scrunching his face up. She shook her head and then pointed at the door.

“Fine. You’re excused.” Eddie practically jumped out of his seat, bag over his shoulder, and ran out the room, yanking the door open and dissapearing into the corridor before anyone could say anything. Eddie scanned down the hallway, and frowned as he realised no one was there. Had he just imagined Richie being there?

“Eds!” A voice came from down the hall and Eddie turned to see Richie standing beside some lockers, one foot kicked back and against one of the doors. He had a cigarette between his lips and a big smile, and even though Eddie wanted to throttle him, he felt his heart skip and his stomach flutter. Why did he have to look so damn good all the time?

“What the fuck, Richie?!” Eddie hissed as he walked over to him. “What are you doing here?”

“Wanted to see what school was like.” Richie shrugged, reaching around in his pocket for something. “Ya know, since I never went. This place is nice, kinda morbid, but nice.” He pulled his zippo from his pocket and Eddie glared, smacking it away as he brought it up to light his cigarette. 

“You can’t smoke in a school hallway!” Eddie whisper yelled, looking around them as if someone was about to walk out and catch them. “That’s so unsanitary!”

“Well then, looks like we had better go outside.” Richie said, pushing himself away from the locker and sauntering down the hallway towards the exit. Eddie blinked at him, watching him walk away, before he felt his feet start to move.

“We?” He squeaked and Richie looked at him over his shoulder.

“Yep. I’m breaking you outta here, Eddie Spaghetti.”

Eddie scrunched his face up. “Seriously? Another nickname?”

“I thought it was cute.” 

“It’s not. Now cut it out, I can’t skip school.” Eddie and Richie reached the front door and Richie was about to push it open when Eddie grabbed his hand, slamming it shut. “Richie, I’m serious! My mom will kill me if she finds out I cut class, what will the others say?”

“As if they’d care?” Richie scoffed. “They’d be proud of you, you’re finally becoming an actual teenager.” Eddie narrowed his eyes at him. 

“Screw you.”

“If you’re offering-”

“You need a fucking alarm or something to tell you when you’re being a total ass, maybe then you’ll learn to use a filter.” Eddie spat and Richie had never smiled so wide.

“Damn, you’re getting good at the comebacks, I like it.” Eddie rolled his eyes and licked his lips nervously, glancing down the hallway again.

“I’ve...I’ve never skipped before.” He muttered, looking at the floor, and Richie felt his heart beat just a tiny bit faster. This kid was so damn innocent, it was adorable.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Richie promised, and then noticed Eddie’s hand was still on top of his. He twisted his hand so his fingers laced with Eddie’s, and watched in amusement as the other boys face went pink. “Cross my heart.” He drew a cross over his heart, just like he had done in the basement the other day, and Eddie looked up at him. 

“Where would we even go?”

“Anywhere you want. You guys go anywhere that’s fun?” Richie asked, and Eddie felt his thumb stroking his knuckles. He shivered, and he really hoped Richie didn’t notice. He let his shoulders sag in defeat, before swearing under his breath.

“I know a place.” Richie grinned, and pushed the front door open.

“So lets go!” And they did, Eddie leaving the rest of the school day, and his friends, behind. Just for a couple of hours, he told himself as he walked hand in hand with Richie down the front steps of the school and out into the town, just a few hours.

***

“You guys actually jump off of this fucking thing? Awesome!” Richie laughed as he leaned over the Quarry’s edge, looking down into the water below. It was sunny and clear today, and even though the water still looked slightly contaminated, Richie had never been more excited to be outside. Eddie had taken him to the Loser’s favourite place, excluding the Barrens, and the moment Richie heard there was a lake that they swam in, he hadn’t been able to stop talking about it.

“Only a couple of times.” Eddie said, standing a few feet back and staring at Richie. He was standing in just the right way that when he turned around to smile at Eddie, the sunlight hit his face perfectly. And Eddie was trasnfixed. “We usually just walk down the side of the hill and get in there.”

“Fuck that, this is way more fun!” Richie laughed, leaning over the edge again and trying to estimate how high up they were. “Seems easy enough.” Richie then took his cap off and threw it to the side near some rocks, and Eddie’s eyes widened.

“What are you doing?” He asked as Richie shrugged off his jacket and tossed it beside his hat.

“Horseback riding.” He said teasingly and Eddie shook his head.

“I really don’t wanna jump in right now, I only showered a few hours ago and that water is super dirty-”

“No excuses, Eds!” Richie exclaimed, tugging his shoes off, hopping on one foot at one point, and yanking his shirt over his head. That made Eddie shut up, and Richie tried not to smile too much at the sight of Eddie’s eyes raking over his body. “Enjoying the view?” He winked and Eddie’s eyes snapped up to his.

“I-I-” He took a deep breath, composing himself, and then clenched his fists. “You made me skip school, skip my math test that I have later, all to go swimming in some grimy old lake?” Richie didn’t say anything at first, just kicked off his jeans and socks so he was just left in his boxers, before turning to face Eddie properly.

“I didn’t make you do anything.” He said.

Eddie scoffed. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I am.” Richie said, walking up to him and folding his arms over his chest. Eddie had a rather difficult time not looking at his biceps or his stomach, and instead focused on his eyes. But they were beautiful too, so all around he was screwed. “If you wanna go back, sit your test, eat lunch with the others, go right ahead. If not, get your clothes off, and jump.” 

Eddie folded his arms, trying to square up to Richie even though he was a head shorter than him. Richie watched him for a moment, and then slowly smiled.

“Your loss.” He said, and saluted him before turning on his heels and sprinting towards the edge of the Quarry, jumping into the air and disappearing before Eddie’s eyes. Eddie felt himself run after him, skidding to a halt at the edge just in time to see Richie hit the water with a large splash. His jaw dropped, and he felt himself panic when Richie didn’t resurface for a few moments. 

His heart started hammering in his chest the moment he saw the mop of curls reappear and Eddie stared as Richie looked back up at him and waved.

“The water’s beautiful, Eds!” He called up, his voice far away and muffled by the slight breeze rolling in. “Come on!”

“You’re fucking insane!” Eddie yelled back, and he could have sworn he heard Richie laugh.

“Yet you’re still not leaving!” He then started swimming away towards the centre of the lake, diving under the surface of the water and then coming back up, flicking his hair and letting the water run over his face, cooling him down. 

From the top of the Quarry, Eddie just stared. Then he felt his fingers twitch towards the hem of his shirt. Then his jeans, his socks, and finally his sneakers. Eddie neatly put everything to the side, and stepped towards the edge of the Quarry. His feet curled over the grass and he gulped. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” He whispered to himself, shaking his head and grimacing at the sheer height of the drop. He was so high up…

But despite his fear of the fall, the fear of the dirty water below him, and the fear that his mother would probably be able to smell his gunky hair for days after this, Eddie still felt himself step back a few feet to get a good distance from the edge, before taking off into a sprint and jumping. 

The water wasn’t as cold as he thought it would be, and he felt himself opening his eyes once he was completely underwater. He looked around, seeing nothing but the murky water, before kicking his legs underneath him and propelling his body upwards. 

“That was awesome!” He heard and Eddie turned to see Richie swimming towards him, a proud smile on his face. “Ten points for you, Kaspbrak!” Eddie smiled and splashed Richie a little.

“I told you I’ve done it before.”

“I honestly wasn’t sure if you were gonna do it this time, though.” Richie said. “But now that you’d here, what do you guys do after you jump in?”

“We play chicken.” Eddie said, trying to keep himself afloat. “But we’re kind of a few people short.” Richie laughed.

“What else?”

Eddie thought for a second, and then smirked. “We play Dunkers.”

“What’s-” Richie felt his head being shoved underwater before he could speak, and he kicked his legs out as Eddie held his head under for a few seconds before letting him back up. Richie spluttered and gasped, but stopped once he heard the sweet, angelic laughter of Eddie laughing hysterically at him. Richie found himself grinning, water still stuck in his throat, and his eyes already starting to become sore. “The fuck!”

“That’s Dunkers.” Eddie said between his laughs and Richie splashed him, hard.

“You could have drowned me!”

“Serves you right for making me skip class!”

“Oh shut up, you’re already having fun.” Richie said, swimming towards him. Eddie started swimming away, moving to the other side of Richie, and soon the two were circling each other. Richie raised an eyebrow at him. This had suddenly become a competition between the two of them, who could get closest and dunk the other first.

“I only started having fun when you nearly drowned.” Eddie said and Richie let out a low whistle.

“Oh, you’re evil.” 

“Only when you’re around. I’m an angel usually.” Eddie said and Richie could have sworn his stomach did a flip. Was Eddie Kaspbrak flirting with him? 

“An angel, you say?” Richie said, swimming closer to Eddie and realising Eddie was slowly moving closer to him as well. “You wanna test that?”

Eddie cocked his head, confused, before Richie reached out to grab him. Eddie squealed and jumped back, flailing his arms and cackling as Richie seemed to slip back under the water for a moment. 

“Asshole!” Eddie spluttered when half of Richie’s face came up from the water, everything from the nose down being engulfed by the soft ripples he had made. Richie wiggled his eyebrows and Eddie laughed, but then screamed as he felt hands reach his waist and start tickling him relentlessly. “No, NO! Fuck you, Richie! DON’T!” Eddie shrieked, trying to pull away. 

Richie moved himself up, finding some land underneath the water to stand on, and beamed as Eddie splashed around in his arms, trying to get away from his dancing fingers. 

“You try to kill me, it’s only fair I seek sweet, sweet revenge!” Richie hollered, and Eddie just laughed harder. 

This went on for what seemed like forever, Richie trying to dunk or tickle Eddie until the latter managed to escape and get him back. At one point they just circled each other like sharks, trying to catch the other off guard, but they were both too good. 

As Richie splashed him, or accidentally slipped and fell back into the water when he grabbed at him, he realised he hadn’t felt this happy in so damn long. He hadn’t laughed this hard in weeks, even around the others, and it felt good to feel his stomach hurt from laughing and his cheeks ache from smiling so much. He felt like a little kid again, when he and Bill and Georgie would play together in Bill’s back garden, the two older boys chasing the little baby Denbrough around with their plastic swords and fake fake knights helmets. Georgie had a little dragon costume from halloween the year before and he loved pretending to scare his older brother and his best friend by hissing and roaring at them, and the other two were more than happy to play along, running away from him and then bravely trying to battle him side by side.

He hadn’t felt that happiness in years, and yet here he was, with a boy he had known for just over a week, feeling that exact same feeling. And it felt so damn good. 

“Okay, dunking is fun!” Richie said, holding his hands up in surrender, making Eddie halt his actions and watch him with a grin. “But, how about we try something else?”

“You chickening out, Tozier?” Eddie teased and Richie had to bite back the smile he had. 

“Heck no! I just wanna see how good your water abilities actually are.” Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Let’s see who can hold their breath the longest.”

“You know I’m asmathic, right?” Eddie laughed and Richie nodded.

“All the more reason for me to win.” Eddie chuckled.

“As if. You’re on.” He said and the two boys stood a foot away from each other, smirking and staring each other down. 

“On three, okay?” Eddie nodded. “One.”

“Two.” Eddie breathed. 

“Three, go!” Richie then dived down and Eddie followed suit, waving his arms up under the water so he was staying below the surface. He opened his eyes, only to come face to face with a dark, blurry Richie. He laughed a little, then cursed in his head as he let some air out. Richie smirked at him and the two looked into each other’s eyes, wanting to see who would crack first. 

It was all over when Eddie had the urge to cough only a few seconds later, and he resurfaced quickly, spluttering and patting his chest as Richie followed him, laughing his ass off.

“Oh my god, you’re terrible!”

“I was basically choking!” Eddie coughed and Richie tutted.

“Excuses, excuses. Looks like I win.”

“Fuck off!” Eddie spat, shoving his shoulder slightly. “That was only round one!”

“Oh, you’re challenging me to another round? Go right ahead, it’ll make me feel better to win two times in a row.”

“You’re such a cocky little shit, you know that?” Eddie grinned and Richie just replied by diving back down after taking a huge gulp of air. Eddie panicked, but did the same, and pushed himself as far under the water as he could go, opening his eyes again and staring at Richie.

Time seemed to slow down underwater, and there was no sound, nothing. Just him, and Richie. And it was peaceful. Eddie reached over and pushed Richie slightly, trying to catch him off guard, and Richie glared, pushing him right back. Eddie grinned, trying to let as little air out as possible, as Richie smiled at him. He had been doing it all damn day, smiling at him, but this smile, the one that didn’t show his teeth or that was teasing. But the smile that reached his eyes, the smile he used when he was completely and utterly alone with Eddie, made Eddie feel something fill his entire body.

He felt his nerves catch fire, and he blinked as Richie seemed to swim closer to him, tiny bubbles coming from his nose. They stared at each other, neither of them wanting to leave this bubble of peace they had surrounded themselves in, and then richie moved even closer. Eddie got see the freckles on his noses and the specks of gold in his eyes, and he felt himself move towards him until their noses bumped together. 

Then his lungs started to burn and he had to push himself back up, breaking the surface of the water and gasping for as much as as he could. Richie came up a few seconds later and pushed the hair from his face so it stuck up slightly. 

“Eddie-”

“I’ve wanted to talk to you for days.” Eddie choked out, and Richie froze in the water. “I...I didn’t know how, because this is all really, really weird and I’m not used to feeling like this.” The words were tumbling from his mouth before he could stop himself, and to be perfectly honest, he didn’t really want to. “The other day, when we hid from Henry and Patrick...I panicked. I’m not used to being so...close to someone.”

“Eddie, I’m sorry if I freaked you out or anything.” Richie said but Eddie shook his head, silently asking him to stop. Eddie swam a little closer, even though their legs were already grazing each other under the water and he could feel Richie’s breath on his cheek. 

“I don’t what’s happening to me.” Eddie breathed out, swallowing hard, and Richie looked so helpless. “No one...I’ve never...I don’t think I’ve ever-” He was mentally slapping himself, he couldn’t even get the damn words out. How was he supposed to be honest when he was just as bad at talking than Bill?

“I like you too.” Richie said, catching Eddie off guard, and the smaller boy stared at him with wide eyes and a slack jawed expression. Richie looked shy in that moment, and he looked down at the water, seeing their legs kicking under the water and nudging each other every so often. Eddie’s chest was heaving, and his body was shaking, and everything in his mind that his mother had instilled into him was telling him to swim away. Don’t let this dirty boy touch you. Don’t let this filthy kid ruin you. Don’t let yourself give in. 

“Fuck it.” Eddie whispered, and nudged Richie’s face up with his nose before pressing his lips against his. 

Richie didn’t move, it’s like his entire body was paralysed. But then he started to feel everything at once. The water lapping over his shoulder and neck, the heat pooling in his belly, the electricity flooding his veins, and the soft, wet lips of Eddie Kaspbrak on his. And then he moved. He grabbed Eddie’s waist, pulling him flush against his chest, as Eddie wrapped his arms around Richie’s neck and tilted his head so he could deepen the kiss. 

It was clumsy and messy, as this was both of their first kisses, but neither of them were about to admit that. Eddie because he was embarrassed, and Richie because, well, it was Richie. 

Eddie felt Richie’s tongue brush against his and for a split second he felt his body tense up, the thought of germs getting into his head. Richie pulled back slightly, feeling him stiffen in his arms. But Eddie ran his hand down his neck and up to cup his cheek. He didn’t want to make him worry, make him think he regretted it. Because for the first time in his life, Eddie was anything but sorry.

“No, it’s okay.” Eddie whispered against his lips, pressing their foreheads together and rubbing his nose on Richie’s. “I’m okay.”

And Richie smiled. “So am I.”


	8. Eyes on You

“What was it like?”

“What was what like?”

“Being on the road, with your friends.” Eddie asked softly, shifting under the covers slightly so he was snuggled up in the warmth of the fabric. Richie frowned a little at him, lying directly opposite him.

“You wanna know about me before I came here?” Richie asked, as if it was completely unheard of for Eddie to be curious. 

“Well yeah.” He replied. “We’ve never really talked about it before and, I don’t know, I wanted to ask. I want to know.” Richie’s smile was wide and Eddie felt himself turn a little pink. 

“Are you actually interested in something coming out of my mouth for once? Eds, I’m stunned!” Richie said, reaching up and ruffling Eddie’s hair, which made the other boy groan wiggle about.

“Cut it out! I’m serious!” Eddie whined and Richie stopped, nudging himself closer so their noses were nearly touching. 

“Alright, it was...freeing. Like, I could do anything out there with no parents to stop me, no adults yelling at me. No one could hold me back, you know?” Richie said honestly, thinking back to all those years he spent on the streets, driving with strangers, stealing food and sneaking into abandoned buildings just to find somewhere to rest his head that night. “I felt like I could do anything out there.”

“Do you miss it?” Eddie asked quietly. Richie thought for a moment and then shrugged.

“I don’t know. Kinda? I’m not used to staying in one place for too long.” Eddie felt his heart speed up a little and he gulped. Richie noticed, of course, and reaching his hand out to stroke Eddie’s cheek with his thumb. “Hey, I don’t wanna go anywhere, alright?”

“But-”

“I like it here.” Richie said, letting his fingers trace patterns into Eddie’s smooth skin. “It was fun out there sure but, for now, I don’t wanna be anywhere else but here. You understand?”

Eddie felt his lips twitch and he smiled at him. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Besides, I wouldn’t find anyone out there who kisses as good as you do, Eddie Spaghetti.” Richie teased and Eddie stuffed his face into the pillow.

“Oh god, I am NOT a good kisser.” Eddie mumbled.

“As someone who has kissed you multiple times over the past weekend, I beg to differ.” Richie said, pressing a soft kiss to Eddie’s shoulder and reveling in the cute, happy little noise that came from Eddie’s throat in response. “Seriously, you’ve never kissed anyone before me?”

“Of course not! I don’t date people, I barely talk to anyone outside of my social group.” Eddie said, moving his face out to look at Richie properly. 

“I kinda like knowing I’m your first.” Richie smirked and Eddie could have died from embarrassment.

“Please stop talking.”

“But that’s the one thing I’m good at!” Richie protested, and Eddie glared at him before grabbing his face and kissing him before he could open his mouth again. Richie promptly shut up, and rested his hands on Eddie’s waist under the covers, stroking his clothed hip with his thumbs and smiling into the kiss as Eddie tilted his head up to get a better angle. They eventually had to pull away, breathing heavier than usual, and Richie pressed his forehead to Eddie’s. “I like it when you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Kiss me first.” Richie whispered, against his lips. 

Eddie frowned slightly. “Why?”

“I don’t know, makes me feel like...you like me.” Eddie nearly squealed at how cute Richie looked as he started to blush, his neck shifting from pale to red in seconds, his eyes darting down to avoid eye contact, and Eddie could look at him forever. 

“You’re so much nicer in the mornings, you know that?” Eddie said and Richie snorted, looking back at him again.

“Oh thanks, I’ll just stay asleep until the dawn and then you can spend time with me. Yeah?”

“Sounds good to me.” Eddie grinned and Richie kissed him, pulling him closer to his body and sighing happily. Neither could have imagined how the weekend would have played out after Eddie skipped school. After the quarry, both boys stayed in Eddie’s room for Friday all through the weekend and to Monday morning, now, and they hadn’t felt anything but complete and utter happiness the entire time. It had been tough, keeping Richie hidden from Eddie’s mother, but he either hid under the mound of Eddie’s duvets, or even under the whole bed, when Mrs K wandered in every so often to clean or check on her son. She nearly caught them once the other morning, when Richie was spooning Eddie and trying to nuzzle his nose into his hair, when he heard footsteps on the landing. He had never moved so quickly, running across the room and hiding in the closet as Mrs Kaspbrak peeked her head into her son’s room only to see him soundly sleeping. Richie got back into bed the second she left and acted like nothing happened. 

Eddie also hadn’t seen his friends all weekend, which made them worry to the point of calling him every day until he finally answered. 

“We were supposed to go to the arcade today, where are you?” Mike would asked with a worried tone only for Eddie to mentally slap himself before apologising and saying he couldn’t make it. He felt bad for ditching his friends that day, but he knew once he told them what was going on that they would understand. Well, if he decided to tell them that is. He still hadn’t completely made up his mind about that. He and Richie were in their own happy little world in his room, just cuddling and kissing and making jokes and watching movies until the early hours of the morning. It had been the most fun Eddie had had in such a long time that he never wanted it to end. But now it was Monday, and he had to get up for school in 5 minutes. 

Eddie groaned when his alarm blared from behind him, and was about to turn over when Richie reached over his body and whacked the buzzing clock, making Eddie jump.

“Jesus, don’t break it! That was a birthday present!”

“It’s a fucking loud present, Eds.” Richie said, yawning slightly. “And besides, I don’t want the reminder that you have to leave me all day.”

“I’ve got too, Richie.” Eddie sighed, trying to untangle himself from Richie’s lanky arms. “I’m gonna be late and after the shit I pulled last week Mom won’t let it go so easily.”

“But look how well it turned out for you!” Richie said as Eddie finally managed to get out of bed, standing beside it and folding his arms over his chest. Richie wiggled his eyebrows at him, lying out across the bed with his limbs all over the place, and Eddie snorted.

“I can’t believe I let you sleep in my bed.” Eddie said sadly, shaking his head. “You’re so weird.”

“And yet here I am, still in your bed.” Richie winked, making Eddie groan and whack him with one of his pillows. Richie laughed before grabbing Eddie around the waist and tackling him to the bed, the other boy squealing as Richie’s fingers attacked his sides and made him fidget and kick his legs out. 

“Richie, stop!” He said, thanking god that his mother had work so early on Monday’s, meaning that he didn’t have to be worried about her hearing what was happening. Richie grinned, only picking up the pace with his hands, and tried to tickle the exposed skin of stomach underneath his sweater, only making Eddie yell louder. “Richie!”

“Never!” Richie cried out in a posh british accent. “You are mine, forever! You’re never leaving this room!”

Eddie laughed until his chest ached and his face hurt, and Richie thought he looked amazing. He stopped after a minute or so, allowing both boys to breath, before realising he was straddling Eddie’s hips. He paused, knowing that Eddie was already freezing up underneath him, before leaning down slowly and capturing his lips in a soft kiss. Eddie reciprocated after a few seconds of initial shock, but allowed his hands to weave themselves into Richie’s hair, tangling his fingers in his curls and sighing into his mouth. 

When Richie pulled away, Eddie accidentally let out a soft whine in protest, and it made Richie’s heart skip a beat. “I really wish you didn’t have to go.” He whispered, leaning over him. “I don’t like being in this house by myself.”

“It’s not exactly scary.” Eddie joked, toying with the sleeves on Richie’s striped shirt. Richie rolled his eyes.

“That’s not what I meant.” He smirked. “I meant...I miss you, when you’re gone. You get to go to school and be with your friends and I just...stay here.”

“You wanna go to school?” Eddie asked, cocking his head to the side. Richie shrugged slightly, thinking over his response.

“I used to wanna go. When I was small. But I doubt I’d last very long. I’d just smoke instead of study.”

“They’d kick you out for smoking in class.” Eddie pointed out.

“Well, there we go then. No education for Richard Tozier.” Eddie rolled his eyes and playfully hit Richie’s chest.

“Come on, let me up.” He said, but Richie shook his head, making Eddie groan. “Rich-”

“One more for the road?” Richie asked, glancing down at Eddie’s lips, and both of them smiled.

“God dammit, fine, but I need to shower afterwards! And you need to take one too, you stink.”

“I love it when you talk dirty.” Richie said before kissing him again.

 

***

Even though Eddie protested with every ounce of his being, Richie refused to not walk him to school. It wasn’t like Eddie was a kid, he was 17 in just a week and a half and he was fed up of everyone still treating him like the baby, the losers and his mother, and now Richie, included. 

“I’m not trying to baby you, Eds.” Richie said, slinging his arm round Eddie’s shoulders lazily, his massive jacket keeping Eddie warm slightly. Eddie felt his body freeze slightly, noticing a few stares, but he tried to ignore them. They were just friends to everyone outside Eddie’s bedroom, and the one time Eddie snuck downstairs on Saturday night to spend the night down on the pull out sofa with Richie in the basement. It hadn’t been the best night’s sleep, but that had also been the first time Richie had spooned him so he didn’t complain that much. “I just wanna make sure Big Bad Bowers doesn’t get you.”

“He’s too busy trying to grow brain cells.” Eddie grumbled, the thought of Henry Bowers instantly making him sick. Richie chuckled, ruffling Eddie’s already messy bed hair, earning a whine from him. Eddie’s hair had been growing out a little lately, getting slightly longer and covering more of his face. Richie liked it, he said the shaggy look suited him, but Eddie thought differently. He just had to ask his mother for money and he’d get it cut, but he hadn’t yet. But it didn’t have anything to do with Richie’s compliments, not at all. 

“Even so, I still don’t want him touching you. Any of you, he’s an asshole.” Richie said, keeping Eddie close as they neared the school gates. High schoolers were flooding in in groups, chatting about their weekends and whatever parties they went too. Richie overheard a few girls talking about some rave out of town and he smiled. “I went to one of those once.”

“You went to a rave party? How? You’re not 21!” Eddie squeaked and Richie could have pinched his cheeks he was so adorable.

“I knew a guy who made fake ID’s, plus I used to sing in a band that played at an underground bar once.” He said it so nonchalantly that Eddie stared at him wide eyed.

“I’m sorry, you sing?”

“Yeah, didn’t I mention that?” 

“Uh no, actually, you didn’t. Care to elaborate?” Eddie was almost glaring. Why wasn’t Richie making a big deal out of this? Eddie didn’t know any kids in Derry that played in a band, it was basically unheard of around here. If the rest of the school found out about Richie’s past singing antics he’d be the talk of the town within a day. Eddie felt himself glance around at the other teenagers, and he realised they were all staring at him. Well, they were mostly staring at Richie. He looked out of place in Derry, ripped jeans and oversized clothes weren’t that coming of a trend. He stood out, he looked like some punk ass kid. Because he was. But Eddie didn’t like the looks all these kids were giving him, some girls were even smiling at Richie and whispering to each other. 

“I mean I was just a singer, not a very good one. We only played a few gigs before I had to hit the road again, but it was fun.” Richie realised Eddie wasn’t paying attention to him anymore and instantly frowned. “Hey, aren’t you listening?”

“People are watching us.” Eddie said quietly, tilting his head so only Richie could hear him. Richie scoffed, then looked around, and agreed that yes in fact almost every single person they passed was looking their way. 

“Why?”

“Because...I don’t know, you’re new?”

“So?”

“So, people will stare. It’s this town’s thing.” Eddie tried to ignore the eyes burning into the back of his head, but Richie just seemed to revel in it. 

“I feel like a movie star or some shit. Hey Eds, watch.” Eddie then looked up to see Richie turn to a couple of girls that were watching him like a hawk, before winking at them. “Morning, ladies.” He said, smooth as silk, and Eddie’s jaw dropped as all 3 of them giggled and began whispering to each other. Richie just beamed. “Still got it.”

“It?” Eddie asked, his voice higher and more frantic than before. “And...don’t you like guys?”

“You know, charm? Girls like the grubby bad boy look. And, to be completely honest, I like both.” Richie shrugged. 

“Both?”

“Boys and girls. I like both.” Richie said and Eddie nearly choked on air.

“Really?”

“Have I seriously not been telling you this stuff? Damn, I’m a bad friend.” Richie shook his head, running his fingers through his hair, as he led Eddie towards the steps of the school. “I guess this is where we part ways, good sir.” Richie said, leaning against the railing. Eddie held onto one of his bag straps and nodded.

“I guess so.” He said sadly, already not wanting to go inside. “I’ll uh, see you at home?”

“I’ll come pick you up, don’t worry.” Richie grinned and his body started to lean forward, before he felt Eddie’s hand press against his chest, pushing him back.

“Not here, okay?” Eddie said quickly, looking around at the people passing them. Richie’s shoulders sagged slightly, and Eddie felt like an asshole, but he wasn’t ready.   
“Okay. Okay, Eddie.” Richie nodded, stepping backwards and away from the steps, putting distance between them that neither of the boys wanted. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, kid.” Richie said as he grinned, wanting to lighten the situation, and retreating towards the entrance. Eddie felt himself smile again and rolled his eyes, before tugging his back higher up his back and walking into school. 

 

***

 

Ben and Eddie studied every Monday together in the school library during fifth, because they both had free periods. It was the one thing the two bonded on the most, school, and it was good to have someone like Ben; quiet and eager to learn, to sit next to. If he studied with Bev she’d just get bored halfway through and start flicking rubber bands at Eddie’s head and if he studied with Bill he’d end up falling asleep, and Stan and Mike both had class during that hour. 

Ben sat a chair away from Eddie, his nose stuck in a book on the French Revolution, as Eddie stared at the table with a blank expression as he thought about everyone staring at Richie earlier. He didn’t like that everyone, boys and girls, were looking at him. Like he was the prize on a gameshow or something. Eddie scowled at the table top, crossing his arms and huffing. Why did Richie have to be so damn good looking? 

“You okay?” Ben asked, looking up from his book. Eddie turned to him, still slightly dazed. 

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” He said, waving Ben off. “Tired.”

“You have a busy weekend?” Ben asked, and Eddie sighed, knowing the others must have been wondering what his deal was with ditching them. His excuse may have been bullshit, but he didn’t think he was that bad of a liar, surely?

“You could say that.” Eddie felt himself go a little red at the memory of lying on Richie’s chest as he stroked his hair, a cigarette hanging from Richie’s fingers and a lazy smile on his face. He also thought of Sunday night when their kissing slowly but surely turned into their first makeout session, only for it to be interrupted by a bird hitting the window. Eddie had nearly fallen off the bed it had scared him so much, but seeing Richie’s hysterical face had made it worth it. 

“What did you do?” Ben asked and Eddie snapped back to reality. 

“Uh, just hung out with my Mom. Saw family. Just stuff.” Ben raised an eyebrow at him but he shrugged all the same.

“Sounds good. You missed out though, Stan nearly beat Richie’s high score.” Eddie’s stomach knotted at the mention of his name, and he automatically started smiling.

“Really?”

“Only 100 points to go and Richie will be knocked off his throne.” Ben grinned and the two laughed, thinking about how little time it had taken Richie to beat the highest score at the arcade. They would be love to see the look on his face when he found out he was soon to be close second. “You know, I’ve actually been meaning to ask you about Richie.” Eddie froze, and he slowly looked up at Ben with wide eyes. 

“Y-you have?”

“Yeah. His last name’s Tozier, right?” Eddie cocked his head. 

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, something’s been on my mind since we met him in the woods. I feel like I recognise that name from somewhere. Like I’ve heard it before.”

“I doubt it, not many people on this planet have the last name Tozier.” Eddie smiled slightly, looking at his lap. “He’s one of a kind, I guess.”

“I know but, I don’t know, Eddie. I really feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before, or seen it maybe? Does it ring any bells to you?”

“Sorry, no.” Eddie said honestly, feeling bad when Ben’s face fell. “Maybe it’s a celebrity name? Someone you watched in a movie?”

“I guess. I just thought…” Ben trailed off, not knowing where to go with his point. Eddie patted his arm comfortingly. 

“It’s okay, maybe it’ll come to you.” Ben smiled, appreciating Eddie’s words.

“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, there was something else i wanted to talk about.” 

“Go on.”

“Beverly invited me, well, all of us, to this party on Friday.” Eddie physically cringed and Ben laughed. “Trust me, I know, but she really wants to go. It’s sort of out of town though, so we’d have to get a hotel room.”

“Well count me out, my Mom would never let me leave Derry.” Eddie said, resting his chin in his hand. 

“I know but, maybe you could...lie?”

“Lie? To MY mother? Come on, Ben!” Eddie laughed, knowing full well that nothing got past Mrs K. 

“It sounds crazy but just tell her you’re staying at mine that night! Come on, Bev really wants to go and to be honest, even if a party isn’t our scene, it might be kinda fun. It’s not a normal party either.”

“Oh god...what kind of party is it?” Eddie asked nervously and Ben grinned.

“Fancy dress.” Eddie groaned loudly, earning a swift and harsh “Sssh!” from the librarian behind him. He nodded an apology at her before glaring at Ben. 

“You’re seriously asking me to dress up and go to some random’s party? That’s out of town?”

“You gotta admit, as ridiculous as it sounds, it also sounds like a good time.” Ben grinned and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“If I die, or get mugged, or worse my Mom finds out, Bev is responsible.”

“Trust me, she’ll be too happy to hear you’re going to care. She’s managed to convince everyone else to go, the whole gang has to be there apparently. Including Richie.” Eddie hesitated.

“She wants him to go?”

“Of course! Don’t you?” Eddie thought for a moment. At first he thought, no he didn’t. From this new found information, Richie had attended parties before, he knew how to act around drunk people, he wasn’t a total stranger to this. More people would have chances to stare at him, talk to him, touch him. And Eddie felt sick thinking about it. But he also felt sick at the thought of Richie not being there with him, secretly holding his hand when they were sat down or wrapping his arm around him at the punch table. And Eddie cursed under his breath.

“I’ll ask him when I get home.” He sighed and Ben was already beaming.

“Bev’s gonna love you for that, seriously. Thank you.” Eddie couldn’t help but smile.

“Anything for you guys. But like I said, if I die, it’s Bev’s fault.”

“Understood. Now, what the hell are we gonna wear?” 

 

***

“I was thinking we all go as punks!” Bev said excitedly after school, all of the losers walking down the hall together towards the exit. 

“Seriously? Do you want me to look insane?” Stan asked in disugst.

“You’ll great, Stan!” Bev said, nudging his hip with hers. “And besides, I’ll do your guys make up so you’ll look awesome, trust me.”

“M-muh-muh-makeup?” Bill spluttered, and even Eddie gave Bev an uncomfortable look. She groaned and shook out her curls.

“God, you cannot back out now! It’ll just be some eyeliner, I promise!”

“I’m gonna get my ass kicked.” Stan said, accepting his fate. Mike tutted at him from behind.

“Don’t be such a downer, Stan. Bev’s right, this is gonna be fun. And it’ll be good to talk to some new people.”

“I’m fine with the friends I have, thanks.” Eddie said and Bev cooed at him, pinching his cheek. “Oh don’t! I hate it when Richie does that, I don’t need you doing it too.”

“Richie, huh?” Bill asked slyly, raising an eyebrow. “You guys good now?”

“Since when were we bad?”

“Since you ignored him for three days straight for no reason?” Stan pointed out and Eddie glared at him.

“I wasn’t ignoring him, I just...had stuff to do.”

“Bullshit.” Mike coughed and Eddie reached over to slap his shoulder.

“Would you quit it!” He snapped. “We’re fine, we’re cool.”

“Well good, because I want him to come too. Ben said you’d put in a good word for me.” Bev said excitedly and Eddie nodded.

“I don’t know, he might not want to go, you know?”

“Sounds like his kind of scene if you ask me.” Mike said.

“Y-ye-yeah.” Bill nodded. “Richie seems like he would l-luh-love a party.” 

“I’ll ask him. I can’t guarantee he’ll say yes though.” Eddie said, desperately hoping the others would lay off. Thankfully they did, and when they walked through the double doors leading to the car park, all of them smiled. Finally, the worst day of the week was over with. Eddie glanced around the school grounds, until he spotted the mop of curly hair leaning against a lamp post. He smiled without meaning too, and the others noticed him stopping.

“Ask him now, Eds!” Bev said eagerly.

“Can I get home first?” Eddie asked with a whine but Bev was already dragging them all over to where Richie was stood, smoking a cigarette, and wearing a pair of Eddie’s sunglasses that he had completely forgotten he owned. He was about to tell him off, but then he remembered he was in public, his friends were right next to him, so he kept his mouth shut.

“Well hello!” Richie called out, opening his arms for Beverly as she ran to him, jumping into his embrace. “Missed you, Marsh.”

“You too.” She beamed. Richie let her down before turning to the guys.

“How’s everyone doing this fine afternoon?” He asked.  
“Ready to go home.” Ben said, yawning slightly, and Ben rested his elbow on his shoulder.

“You and me both, Benny boy.” Richie subtly turned to Eddie and winked, and Eddie nearly melted. 

“Oh, Eddie. Weren't you gonna ask Richie something?” Stan perked up from the back and Eddie’s face went from flushed to angry in seconds.

“Stanl-”

“What’s up?” Richie asked, giving Eddie his full attention. Eddie looked at everyone individually, cursing them all out in his head for throwing him under the bus, before looking at Richie awkwardly.

“There’s a party on Friday, it’s out of town, and Bev wanted me to ask you-”

“We all did.” Ben added, only making Richie smile wider. 

“Yeah. We all wanted to know if you wanted to come too…” Eddie trailed off, and seconds ticked by before Richie turned to the others.

“Type?”

“Fancy dress.” Bev said.

“Good fucking god, can this town get any better?” Richie cheered, wrapping an arm around Eddie’s shoulders. “I’d be honored, Eddie my dear. As long as you get to be my date for the evening.”

“Please stop.” Eddie whined, trying to push him away. The others all watched with amused looks, liking the way Eddie was so physically annoyed at Richie, but so willing to just let him do and say whatever. 

“Great!” Bev exclaimed. “Okay so Eddie, Stan, why don’t the three of us get ready together since we live the closest?”

“As long as I don’t have any eyeliner put on me that’s fine.” Stan said.

“Seconded.” Eddie jumped in.

“You’re no fun, either of you. But fine. Rich, wanna hang out with the other boys?”

“Hell yeah, boys night!” Richie cheered and high fived Mike, Ben and Bill respectively before turning to look at Eddie again. “What you dressing up as, Eds?”

“We’re all going punk apparently.” He said begrudgingly. Richie grinned from ear to ear.

“You guys know the way to my heart, you really do.” Richie patted his chest and Eddie rolled his eyes, even though he was slowly pressing himself into Richie’s side. 

“Sounds like a date.” Bev grinned, winking at Eddie, who just looked away. He didn’t want her to think that he was actually blushing at the thought of anything he did with Richie being considered a ‘date’. 

“We should go. Mom will be waiting outside with the cops on the phone if I’m not back before 4:30.” Eddie said, moving away from Richie reluctantly. The others all said their goodbyes, Richie giving Bev one last hug, before he trotted after Eddie. 

“You not excited about this party?” He asked and Eddie sighed.

“I guess. It’ll be something to do on a friday night.”

“The only other thing you’d be doing is making out with me, and now we can do that in a room filled with drunk teenagers whilst we both wear ripped jeans and eyeliner.

“No eyeliner!” Eddie snapped, ignoring the previous comment.   
“You gotta loosen up, Eddie Spaghetti.” Richie said, reaching down when they were alone on the road to intertwine their fingers. “Especially around me. You don’t need to be tense when you’re with me.” Eddie stared at their hands, then into Richie’s eyes, and he felt himself nodding. 

“Fine. Fine, I won’t be tense.” He said through gritted teeth. Richie grinned, reaching down to kiss his cheek, before pulling away from his hand. 

“Good! Now, come on! I have some pizza’s to heat up!” Richie then began bounding down the street like an excited puppy, and Eddie just tiredly followed him, a lazy smile on his face. 

Richie Tozier really would be the death of him one day.


	9. Guyliner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When the four boys see Eddie, Bev and Stan walking towards them at the bus stop, listen to 'Relax' by Frankie Goes To Hollywood and thank me later

“Okay, I know you want me to look cool or whatever, but there is no way in HELL I’m wearing that!” Stan glared at the outfit Bev had laid out for him on the bed. Bev looked hurt, and stared at Stan with wide eyes, Eddie sat on the bed beside his outfit with a smirk on his face.

“Oh come on! You’ll look great, Stan! Look, I picked a blazer because I know you look good in those.”

“I wore a blazer once and that was to a funeral.” Stan sat flatly and Eddie giggled as Bev rolled her eyes.

“And how many compliments did you get? A lot. So you’re wearing it.” She said and Stan responded by scoffing.

“Well, I’m still not wearing eyeliner.”

“It’s part of the costume, Stanley. You won’t look punk without it.” Bev said tiredly, leaning against Eddie’s desk.

“She has a point.” Eddie pointed out. “You’ll definitely look like you’re going to a funeral again.”

“Yeah, the funeral of my sanity. Why did I even agree to this?” Stan asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Because you literally have nothing else to do on a Friday night.” Eddie pointed out.

“Shut up, Eddie.”

“Just put it on, okay? Go into the bathroom whilst I do Eddie’s hair and makeup and I’ll do yours after.” Bev said, grabbing the clothes from the bed and shoving them into Stan’s arms. When he didn’t move, just whined at her, she pointed at the bathroom door down the hall and Stan groaned. But he still wandered out the room anyway. No one could say no to Bev.

Eddie laughed once he had slammed the door shut to make a point, and stood up. “You’re gonna owe him big time for this.”

“I’m well aware.” She sighed, then grinned as she turned to Eddie’s outfit. “Okay, you ready to get all dolled up?”

“Not really.” Eddie replied nervously, gulping at the all black outfit in front of him. Bev had gone all out with their outfits, taking stuff from her own wardrobe as well as the boys. She had chosen to wear skin tight leather trousers and a matching jacket with just a plain white shirt underneath, and even without the makeup on she looked incredible. Stan said he thought he saw Joan Jett walking up to Eddie’s house when she arrived. To be honest, Eddie was more than thankful his mother had gone out that night, she wouldn’t have let Beverly even stand in the driveway wearing that.

“You’ll look amazing!” Bev grinned, trying to cheer him up. “I promise, I chose everything because I know what would look good on you.”

“I guess.” He said, his voice uneasy and his fingers shaking. Bev had managed to find Eddie a pair of loose fitting jeans that he could roll up past his ankles, along with some dark sneakers and a faded Iron Maiden shirt with some holes in. The signature piece of the outfit however was the black denim jacket Bev had given him. It was hers, oversized and covered in patches she had sewn on over the past few months, and Eddie was in love with it the moment he saw it.

“Okay, I’ll put some makeup on whilst you change, okay? Then we’ll do your hair!” Bev grinned as Eddie nodded with a sigh, smiling at her excitement. Bev grabbed her bag full of hair and face supplies before sitting at Eddie’s desk and pulling everything out. Eddie stared in wonder as she pulled out tubes and packets and brushes and lipsticks, spreading them out around her and tapping her thigh whilst deciding what to go for. “What do you think?” She asked suddenly, snapping him from his thoughts about how the hell any of that stuff even fit into her bag. “Bold lip or muted lip?”

“What does that even mean?” Eddie asked and Bev smiled at him.

“Cute.” She said, and turned back to the mirror leaning against the wall in front of her. “Bold it is.” Eddie watched for a short while as she put something all over her face, rubbing it in with a brush, before throwing powder on top. He stared at the mess it was making of his desk and carpet and winced. He’d have to clean that up later.

“Eddie, hurry up!” Bev said as she started drawing something black on her eyelid. “You need to get ready, we’ve gotta go soon!” Eddie nodded and turned to his clothes, then glanced over his shoulder at Bev.

“I need to change.” He said quietly.

Without looking up, Bev shrugged. “I’m not looking.” Eddie gulped before realising it was stupid to be embarrassed. Bev had seen him in his underwear countless times before, but that was because they were swimming in the quarry or truth or dare got out of hand. He whipped his shirt off and placed it on his bed before tugging on the one Bev picked out. It was massive, and he assumed it was one of Mike’s or Bill’s, and he felt like he was drowning in it. So after he tugged the jeans on, he tied the end of the shirt into a small knot at the base of his hip, exposing a sliver of his stomach, and sighed, feeling a bit better.

“Still want me to roll the jeans up?” Eddie asked, glancing over his shoulder as Bev expertly drew on eyeliner.

“Pretty please!” Eddie nodded, and sat on the edge of the bed to do so, and once he was moving on to the second ankle, Stan walked back in. At first, Eddie didn’t think anything was different about him, but then he did a double take and his jaw dropped. Stan had changed into black skinny jeans and a tight black shirt, exposing his arms, and had his jacket wrapped around his waist. His hair even looked different, and Eddie almost gasped as he realised he had gelled it back into a quiff. And Stanley Uris NEVER gelled his hair.

“I look like Danny Zuko from Grease.” He huffed, folding his arms, and Eddie shamelessly raised an eyebrow at the muscles in his biceps that he definitely didn’t notice before. Bev turned and squealed the second she saw him.

“Stanny! Look at you!” She gasped, grabbing his hands and pulling him closer to her so she could get a better look. “Oh my god, your hair!”

“It looks disgusting.”

“It looks amazing!” Bev argued, turning to Eddie. “Don’t you think-EDDIE!”

“Oh no.” Eddie whispered as Bev lunged at him.

“Why do you both suit black so much?! You never wear it, how is this possible?!”

Stan and Eddie just nervously glanced at each other. It was going to be a long, long night.

***

Richie stared at himself in the mirror, pursing his lips, and wondering how the fuck he was ever going to do his hair. It was a mess, a frizzy, curly, mess, and he only had Ben’s hair gel and a comb to try and tame it.

“Y-you okay?” Bill asked as he slowly walked into the bathroom, seeing Richie glaring at himself in the mirror.

“Yeah, just trying to decide how to gel this birds nest.” Bill smiled slightly and stepped forward.

“Want me t-t-to help?” Richie raised an eyebrow at him.

“Do I want you touching my hair and massaging my head for a good few minutes? Who could say no to that.” He winked at Bill’s reflection and even though Bill rolled his eyes, he still grabbed the pot of hair gel. Richie ignored the pink tinting his cheeks, and turned to face him. Bill narrowed his eyes before grabbing a glob of gel and going to town, combing it through Richie’s unruly locks and trying to get it to stay in place. Richie looked at him with fascination. “How’d you learn to do this?”

“G-guh-georgie likes giving himself weird hairstyles s-s-sometimes.” Bill said, grinning fondly. Richie smiled too.

“He seems like a cute kid, your brother.”

Bill nodded, scraping back the sides of Richie’s hair until he managed to get them flat. “He is. You got a-a-any siblings?” They both froze, and Bill started to apologise but Richie quickly hushed him.

“Hey, it’s cool man. Nah, I don’t have any. Not any that I know of, anyway.” Bill frowned at that, and his hands stopped working.

“That y-y-you know of? Do you t-t-think you have a-a-any?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it? Maybe my parents had other kids but…I wouldn’t know.” Richie shrugged it off like it was nothing, but Bill was so transfixed on him that Richie slowly came to the realisation that maybe it wasn’t nothing after all. “What? Is that bad?”

“N-nuh-no!” Bill stuttered. “I j-j-ju-”

“Bill, chill.” Richie snorted and Bill smiled at him.

“Sorry. Anyway, how d-d-does this look?” Bill smooth out a couple of edges before turning Richie’s body towards the mirror again. Richie stared in shock. His hair had been perfectly slicked back into a quiff, curls forming at the middle of his forehead and the rest gelled back so it was completely smooth. He grinned and then jumped on Bill, making him yelp in shock.

“You’re a goddamn MASTER, Billiam!”

“D-duh-don’t call me-”

“Damn, you should be a hairdresser. You’d get some mad cash with this talent! So smooth!” Richie ran his fingers over his hair just before Bill swatted them away.

“Stop it! Y-y-you’ll mess it up!” Richie smirked.

“A master.” The two then walked back into Bill’s bedroom, where Mike and Ben were sat, helping each other straighten out their clothing. They had all gone for black, as Beverly instructed, and were all hoping they looked okay. She had just chosen all of their outfits, wanting them to look like a group without making them identical. Ben was wearing a checked black and red shirt with a black shirt underneath, along with some ripped, grey jeans and boots. Mike had on a black dress shirt and jeans and Richie had to admit he looked way too handsome for his own good. Bill had been forced into a white and black long sleeved shirt with a brand new thrasher shirt over the top that Richie had let him borrow from his new collection of clothes, and he had scraped his hair back, adding volume to the front, so it didn’t fall into his eyes for once. Richie on the other hand, just looked like Richie. He had on his jean jacket and ripped jeans, but had decided to wear a black long sleeved sweater, since it was a colder night. He glanced at all the boys and grinned, before pulling out the eyeliner pencil Bev had given him.

“Come on boys. Time for the grand finale.” Everyone groaned.

“I hate this. I hate this so much.” Ben sighed, but decided to just get it over with and walked over to Richie first. “You promise not to poke my eye out?”

“I swear it, Benjamin.” Richie said, crossing his heart. Ben nodded and looked up as Richie leaned over him and gently drew a thick, black line under Ben’s eyes, his fingers shaking ever so slightly. Ben gulped as Richie seemed to get closer and closer to his eye, before he sighed in relief when he pulled away. “Damn, you’re gonna knock their socks off!”

“Okay, I’m next.” Mike beamed, somewhat eager to get his makeup done by a boy. Richie repeated the action on Mike’s eyes, and then on Bill’s, before walking over to the small mirror on Bill’s desk and doing his own. He had worn eyeliner before, that’s why he was weirdly good at applying it, and it looked effortless to the others as he swiped over and under his eyes, making the hazel colour almost glow. He stared at his reflection again, taking in the hair, the outfit, the eyes. And he smiled.

“We should go.” Ben said, glancing at his watch. “We don’t want to keep the other three waiting.”

“You mean you don’t want to keep Beverly waiting.” Mike smirked and Ben just went red in response. Richie snorted, before clapping Mike on the shoulder.

“Mikey gets a good one!” He then winked at Ben. “She’s one lucky lady.”

“She’s not MY lady. And even if she was I wouldn’t call her mine, she’s not a possession.” Ben said with a small frown and Richie placed a hand over his heart.

“The purity. The love! It’s too much! Hold me, Michael!” He collapsed against Mike who just rolled his eyes but rubbed Richie’s arm.

“Okay, Shakespeare. Let’s get going.” Richie grinned.

Mrs Hanscom waved the boys off as they jogged out of her house with a huge smile, not forgetting to give Ben a loving kiss on the cheek, which Richie promptly teased him for the first few blocks they walked down. Ben wanted to retort, make some sort of joke, but he held himself back. He couldn’t make any mother jokes with Richie, and that kind of stung. He watched his friends all walk ahead slightly, wanting to hang back and think for a little bit.

He stared at Richie’s back as he swung an arm over Bill’s shoulders and nodded at Mike with a wink, making the three of them burst out laughing. Ben smiled.

He had never met anyone like Richie before; strong, confident, uncaring yet more caring than anyone. He frowned slightly as his name repeated itself in his head. Richie Tozier. Richie Tozier. Tozier. Tozier. Tozier. Why did it sound familiar to him? It was like trying to remember a dream after most of the day had already passed. Next to impossible, but there was always a chance you’d remember something. And that’s what Ben could remember, his last name. But why?

“You alright there?” Richie turned, grinning down at him and making Ben jump slightly. “You were in your own lil world there, for a sec.” Ben shrugged.

“I’m a dreamer. Sorry.”

“Hey, never be sorry for dreamin’.” Richie smiled, and Ben felt his body go warm. Richie really was lovely.

“W-where did Bev say she was m-muh-meeting us?” Bill piped up after a minute more of walking in a comfortable silence, the only sounds were the wind brushing past them and Richie’s humming.

“At the bus stop down the road from the hotel. Who’s actually staying there by the way?” Mike asked, glancing at them.

“I think all of us.” Ben nodded and Richie shrugged.

“I’ll pass out wherever.”

“You’re staying in a bed, Richie.” Mike chuckled, and Richie shrugged again.

“Like I said, wherever. As long as I get to stay with one of you beautiful boys!” He pounced on them all, giving them wet, slobbery kisses on the cheek for emphasis. All of them threw him away, but they all still laughed.

When they finally got to the bus stop leading out of Derry and out towards the cluster of houses on the outskirts, Bill started to get impatient. He wanted to go to the party, he wanted to get drunk, because no one in Derry threw good parties anymore and it had been months since he or the other losers had been drinking. So he leaned against the glass of the bus stop, tapped his foot impatiently, and stared out at the road leading back into their home town.

And that’s when he saw them.

At first he didn’t think anything of it, just three teenagers dressed in black, nothing weird. Then he noticed the bright red hair, that the tallest one had his shoulders squared as if he was uncomfortable, and that the one in the middle was absolutely tiny. And Bill’s breath hitched. He knocked his hand back against Mike’s chest, not being able to tear his eyes away from the three headed towards them. Mike stopped talking to Ben to turn, and his jaw dropped when he saw them. He hit Ben’s shoulder, and Ben looked too, gasping slightly. Richie, who suddenly realised no one was talking to him, pouted.

“Hey, what the hell? I was in the middle of a good fuckin’ story!”

“Rich, shut up.” Mike said quietly and Richie frowned, before he walked over to stand next to Bill, squinting into the distance.

“What the hell are you all-” He froze. “Eddie?”

It was like slow motion, and the four boys couldn’t look away. Bev grinned as she flipped her hair slightly, her hips swaying naturally and her smile as bright as ever. Stan looked a little less happy, but Richie would be damned if he didn’t admit he looked amazing. He had never thought Stan could look good in black, but he owned it. His hair was gelled the same way as his and he didn’t have enough oxygen in his brain to even joke about the fact he copied him. He was too busy staring at Eddie to even remember how to breathe.

He looked gorgeous. His hair natural and small ringlets brushing around his jawline and neck. His blazer had been rolled up slightly to expose his tanned arms and Richie’s eyes shamelessly raked all over him. He stared into his eyes as he got closer and nearly had a heart attack. Eddie Kaspbrak was wearing eyeliner.

“Evening, boys.” Bev skipped over to them, kissing their awestruck faces on the cheek. She raised an eyebrow at them as they stared at her, then at Stan and then at Eddie. Stan scoffed.

“What? My hair doesn’t look that bad anymore!” Stan huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He glanced at Bill, whose eyes were wider than ever before and he gulped. “Bill?”

“You look b-buh-beautiful.” He whispered and Stan’s cheeks went red.

“Thanks. You…you too.” Mike snorted slightly, but backed up when Stan whipped his head around to glare at him.

“You look amazing, Ben! Did Rich do your eyeliner?” Bev smiled, resting a gentle hand on his arm. Ben nodded, his voice failing him completely. “Come on, wanna walk with me?” She extended her arm out to him and he instantly took it, letting her guide him down the street like a puppy. Mike, Stan and Bill followed, leaving Eddie and Richie behind. Alone. Staring at each other.

Richie wanted to speak, he really did, but it was like his throat had closed up. He just gulped as he kept taking in Eddie’s appearance, before the tension got too much and Eddie licked his lips.

“Cat got your tongue, Rich?” Eddie whispered before walking past him and after the others. Richie didn’t move for a moment, then he turned to look over his shoulder, only to catch Eddie doing the same thing. Eddie smiled and then carried on walking, causing Richie to let out a long, low whistle.

“Touche, Eds. Touche.”

***

“Does anyone actually know whose party this is?” Ben yelled over the thumping music, trying to ignore Richie who was jumping up and down beside him, shaking his hair around and messing Bill’s hard work up.

“Who fuckin’ cares?” Richie yelled, screaming alone the lyrics as the band - whoever it was had literally hired a band to play there, Richie couldn’t get any happier - played Sum 41’s ‘In Too Deep’. Bev was beside him, screaming the lyrics and grinning like a mad woman. Eddie was beside Ben watching them and shaking his head.

“It’s so loud, jesus christ.” He grumbled and Stan snorted next to him.

“You’ve just realised?” He said, sipping his drink as Bill drunkenly danced in front of him. It had been about an hour and a half since they arrived, yet Bill was already drunk off his ass, and Richie and Bev had taken about 3 shots each of something that burnt like hell. Eddie had a drink already and was nearly finishing his second, whereas Stan was still on his first. He wasn’t really a drinker, but if it meant he would start enjoying himself, he figured he may have to try to catch up with Bill.

Mike shook his head at them all. “Stop being spoil sports and listen to the good music!” He yelled and Stan huffed. The band ended the song and everyone cheered, clapping their hands and spilling drinks everywhere. The lead singer, a tall guy with a short, blonde mohawk, beamed at the crowd.

“Alright, anyone wanna come up here and do a song?” The crowd went wild, everyone too drunk to even consider the fact they were about to embarrass themselves in front of everyone. Eddie ducked his head down, not wanting to be randomly picked. He felt like this was gym class all over again.

“I’ll do it!” Eddie’s eyes widened as Richie raised his hand up and started waving madly.

“Richie!” He hissed, wanting him to stop drawing attention to himself, but then Bev joined in. Then Mike. Then Bill. They all hollered, pointing at Richie who was using Mike and Ben’s shoulders to help jump in the air, wanting to be seen.

“Alright kid, come on up!” The blonde said after a few seconds of just watching the kids go wild, and everyone cheered. Richie bit his lip to try and stop himself from smiling too hard, before looking down at Eddie.

“Get ready to be blown away.” He winked and started pushing his way through the crowd towards the makeshift stage at the front of the room. Eddie shook his head.

“I’m ready to have my ears start to bleed.” He mumbled and Bev smacked his arm. “Beverly!”

“What makes you think he’d be bad?!” She scolded and he shrugged, rubbing at his sore arm.

“I don’t know if he-” Bill clapped his hands on Eddie’s shoulders, making him jump, and leaned down to his ear.

“I bet he’s great!” He slurred, stumbling a little and nearly dragging Eddie with him. Eddie shook him off and folded his arms, glaring at Richie as he raised his arms to get the crowd going.

“Good fucking evening!” He yelled into the microphone and everyone went nuts. “I’m a newbie around here, so go easy on me! But uh, this song is gonna be for a group of people who welcomed me into town with open arms. They haven’t kill me yet either so thank god!” A few people laughed and Bev and Bill cheered him. Eddie just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Stan walked up next to him, nudging his hip with his.

“Maybe he won’t be so bad?” He suggested but Eddie didn’t respond. Richie was already turning around and talking to the band members, his hands darting around as he spoke, and he watched as they all started to grin and nod along with whatever he was saying. Richie then turned back to the microphone and beamed.

“This one goes out for someone in particular, too. You know who you are.” Richie didn’t even have to look at Eddie to know he was red in the face, but he still snuck a sly glance at him when the guitarist started playing. Eddie was BRIGHT red.

Richie then closed his eyes, letting the music around him and the cheers of the crowd consume him. He suddenly felt good, really, really good, and he gripped the microphone before leaning towards it and opening his mouth.

Paper bags and plastic hearts

All our belongings in shopping carts

It’s goodbye

But we got one more night

Richie opened his eyes to see everyone grinning at him, not expecting a voice like that to come out of someone so young. Richie ignored the blush on his cheeks and kept on singing, trying to find Eddie and the others in the crowd. He saw Bev and Bill clapping and yelling at him, egging him on, wanting him to sing louder, and Mike and Ben’s impressed smiles, then Stan’s nod of silent approval.

Let’s get drunk and drive around

And make peace with an empty town

We can make it right

The second the beat paused, Richie winked at Eddie the moment he found his eyes, his big, brown eyes, and then yelled into the microphone.

Throw it away

Forget yesterday

We’ll make the great escape

We won’t hear a word they say

They don’t know us anyway

Watch it burn

Let it die

‘Cause we are finally free tonight

The crowd went wild, dancing around and downing their drinks and singing along with him. Richie felt free, like how he felt when he was at the beach. When he was dreaming. He hadn’t felt like this since the Gas Station, since Wes and the boys left him on the side of the road. It felt good, feeling like this. The sweat on his brow and the fire in his lungs as he belted out the words like they were destined to come from his mouth. He watched every single person in that party dance, sing, laugh, stumble, drink. He watched it all. And then he focused purely on Eddie, who was the only person who was stock still in that room. Richie frowned at him. Was he not having fun? Did he not like Richie’s voice? Was the song a bad choice? He couldn’t tell, but when the music slowed down for the bridge, Richie forced himself to keep eye contact with Eddie.

Throw it away

Forget yesterday

We’ll make the great escape

We won’t hear a word they say

They don’t know us anyway

From the dancefloor, Eddie was speechless. He remembered Richie mentioning he had sung in a band before, but he believed he was this good at singing. His voice was raspy and cracked on certain words, but it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of him, the way he was staring at Eddie over the microphone with something like hope in his eyes. And Eddie felt his body start to move with rhythm of the guitar and the beat of the drum. Eddie then smiled wide and started jumping around with the others as Richie belted out the final chorus with utter joy on his face. Eddie was happy. Everything was okay again.

Throw it away

Forget yesterday

We’ll make the great escape

We won’t hear a word they say

They don’t know us anyway

Watch it burn

Let it die

'Cause we are finally free tonight

When the music came to a stop, everyone in the house erupted into applause. Richie, being the modest guy that he was, simply bowed before hugging all the band members. Eddie watched as he slowly weaved himself back through the crowd to his friends, the band starting up another song again and everyone going back to dancing. Once Richie got to them, Bill and Mike pounced on him.

“Holy shit, you were amazing!” Bill screeched and Richie ruffled his hair.

“Look’s like someone’s stutters gone.” Richie laughed and Mike laughed with him.

“Only when he drinks, it gets even worse when he’s hungover.”

“Can’t wait to see that tomorrow.” Richie teased and he pinched Bill’s cheek, making him whine and squirm away from his touch. Bev, Ben and Stan started gushing to Richie about his performance then, and Eddie watched silently from behind them as they fawned over him. He then realised how easy it was to like Richie, so effortlessly easy. He was chill, he was fun, he was loud, he was kind, he could sing. It was like he was made to get people’s attention. And attention was all he was getting. Eddie stared at him as he chatted with the others, accepting a couple drinks from passers by who also fawned over his performance. It took a few minutes for everyone to start disappearing into the crowd and to enjoy the party, leaving Eddie and Richie alone for the first time that night. Richie sighed before slinging an arm over Eddie’s shoulder.

“What did ya think, Eds?” He leaned down, whispering into Eddie’s ear. Eddie shivered slightly as Richie’s breath felt warm over his skin.

“You were amazing up there, Rich.” Eddie said back into his ear and Richie bit his lip.

“You really think so?” He almost looked nervous, unsure, and Eddie’s heart sank.

“You thought differently?”

“Well…I don’t know. My voice was cracking to shit and I felt like I was off key for a verse or two. And besides it was very last minute so-” Richie didn’t get to finish the sentence because Eddie had dragged him down by cupping his face, pressing their lips together. Richie hummed in delight and placed his hands gently on Eddie’s hips, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. Eddie let his hands brush down from Richie’s cheeks to his neck and he stroked the soft hairs at the nape, making Richie sigh. He was in heaven. Fuck the beach, Eddie Kaspbrak was heaven to him now.

“You need to learn to stop rambling.” Eddie teased and Richie raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, you think so?”

“I know so.” Eddie said, before kissing him again, not giving a damn in the world where they were.

***

“Bill, you need to cooperate with me here.” Richie huffed, tugging Bill by his shirt so he was leaning more into his side. Bill giggled as his feet clumsily made their way down the road towards the hotel. He had drank way too much, even more than Richie and Mike, and could barely stand. Richie grunted before looking over at the others. Ben and Bev were a few feet away holding hands, talking quietly to each other and smiling like little kids. Mike had Stan in a small headlock, ruffling his golden locks and laughing as Stan yelled at him to stop. Then there was Eddie, walking right beside Richie and holding his free hand. Eddie had decided to have a few more drinks than planned and was on cloud 9. Not drunk, but not tipsy. Somewhere in between.

“You mind givin’ me a hand here, Eds?” Richie choked out as Bill started to feel heavier against his shoulder. “As much as I love holding your hand, this guy is literally about to fall asleep on me in the middle of the road.” Eddie giggled but moved to stand beside Bill, holding his arm around his shoulders and helping Richie drag him towards the entrance of the hotel. They were thankful Bev had called ahead to arrange the keys and rooms, because all they had to do once they stepped inside was give their names and the cash they had over to the receptionist. She looked them all up and down, even tutting at the state Bill was in, but gave them their key cards nonetheless.

Mike, Ben and Bev were sharing a room with two double beds; Mike and Ben sharing one whilst Bev had one to herself seeing as she organised the whole thing. Leaving Stan, Bill, Richie and Eddie with two double beds and one room to share. At that thought, Stan and Eddie both went pink.

“Come on, lets get this one to bed.” Bev said, stroking Bill’s hair as he drunkenly smiled at her.

“You’re real pretty.” He laughed and she rolled her eyes.

“Never let him live this down, I beg of you.” She whispered to the others, and they all crossed their hearts. Ben led Mike and Bev to their rooms and clumsily put the key cards in before hugging the other four boys goodnight. Bev kissed Richie’s cheek and then Eddie’s, winking at him before rushing into the room, and Eddie gulped. This was fine, this was all going to be completely and utterly fine.

“Stan, open the door.” Richie grunted, basically carrying Bill over his shoulder at this point. Stan did as he was asked and hurriedly pushed the door so Richie could stumble inside and throw Bill onto the bed, laughing as his heavy body bounced on the mattress.

“Bouncy! Bouncy castle!” Bill cheered and as Stan and Richie shut the door and grabbed some glasses of water, Eddie rushed over and shushed Bill.

“We have neighbors, calm down.” He said quietly and Bill quickly pressed a finger to his lips.

“Ssh, okay. Ssh now.” He repeated and Eddie nodded. “Eddie?” Bill yawned.

“Yeah?”

“You looked cute tonight.” Eddie frowned and cocked his head to look down at Bill in confusion.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You and Richie…so cute.” Eddie’s cheeks flared up, but Bill’s eyes were closed so at least he couldn’t see. “Kissin’ and stuff. So, so cute!”

“Uh, thanks, Bill.”

“I didn’t know he was your boyfriend!”

“He’s not my-”

“You suit each other too. Little and large, HAH!” Bill clamped a hand over his mouth, mumbling something into his palm before bursting into a fit of giggles. He pulled his hand away and stroked Eddie’s face fondly. “You couldn’t hear what I was saying!”

“No, I couldn’t.” Eddie smirked.

“That’s because I was covering my mouth!”

“Sure was, Bill.”

“Can we get food?”

“Not till tomorrow morning.” Richie’s voice appeared and Eddie looked up to see him carrying three glasses of water, Stan following close behind him with a few more. They placed them all on the little cabinet in between their beds, and sat down. “Come on, Big Bill. Let’s get your gear off.”

“Oooh, kinky!” Bill squeaked and Eddie snorted. Stan sighed heavily before taking Bill’s shoes off carefully, sliding them off each foot and gently placing them on the floor. Richie instantly started huffing and just started ripping Bill’s clothes off, throwing them around the hotel room without a care in the world. Stan yelped and ran around picking everything up as Richie watched and laughed. Not in a mean way, in a loving way.

“Come on, Eddie Spaghetti. Take it off!” Richie winked as Eddie sat up once Bill was curled up on the bed in his boxers, and slowly moved to the other side of the room closest to the bed he assumed he and Richie would be sharing that night. Richie turned away, focusing on Stan folding Bill’s clothes up and taking off his own. He didn’t want to stare, they weren’t alone, so technically he couldn’t. But Eddie was so…pretty. He snuck a glance at his bare back and smiled. He was covered in freckles, and Richie wanted to count every last one of them. It didn’t matter how long it would take either, it’s just something he really, really wanted to do.

“Okay. I’ll stay with Bill. You and Eddie okay to share?” Stan proposed and Richie smirked.

“Oh yeah, we’re more than okay to share.” Eddie scoffed, throwing his shirt at Richie’s head.

“Disgusting.”

“What?!” Richie pouted as Eddie walked over to him in his boxers and clambered into bed. Richie shrugged before stripping off himself, leaving his clothes in a pile on the floor and snapping at Stan when he tried to pick them up. “I don’t wear neat, non-wrinkled clothes! I feel to normal!”

“You’re insane.” Stan said, tucking Bill into bed. Richie just grinned and jumped into bed with Eddie.

“I’m just me.”

“Exactly.”

“Rude.” Richie then turned their lamp off and snuggled into the warm covers of the bed, sighing in relief and looking into Eddie’s eyes. “How you doin’ all the way over there?” It was true, Eddie had scooched to the furthest part of the bed when Richie got in. He didn’t want to make anything obvious now, seeing as Bill had already seen them kiss at the party.

“Fine.”

“You’re gonna fall. Come here.” Richie made grabby hands at him and Eddie nearly died it was so cute.

“I’m fine, Richie.”

“But I want snuggles!” Richie whined and Eddie gave in before he could throw a tantrum. Richie made a happy noise from within his throat and pressed his face into Eddie’s neck lovingly, pressing a soft kiss to his bare collarbone. “Soft.” He mumbled. Eddie was just trying to keep his breathing steady, and focused on Stan getting into bed next to Bill after forcing him to drink two of the water glasses they had brought, before turning off the last lamp.

“Goodnight.” Stan said. Bill shuffled around in bed for a few seconds.

“Nighty, night!” He sang and they all laughed.

“Sleep tight, boys.” Richie hummed, stroking Eddie’s hip with his thumb and revelling in the way Eddie stroked his shoulder in return. “Try not to be too loud when you bang.”

“Gross, Richie.” Stan grunted.

“I’m just saying, hotel beds are notoriously louder than regular beds.”

“Really?!” Bill gasped, sitting up in bed and making Stan scoff.

“Scientifically proven, Billy Boy. It’s so the workers and cleaners can hear you fuckin’, that way they won’t bother you.”

“Please stop talking.” Stan begged as Bill seemed to be getting a little too invested in the conversation.

“Alright, alright! Night boys.” Stan managed to get Bill to settle down then, wrapping an arm around his waist and pressing his nose into Bill’s soft, straight hair. Bill smiled as he fell asleep.

“They’re adorable.” Richie whispered as he looked at them from over his shoulder. “So innocent.”

“And then there’s you.” Eddie whispered and Richie fake gasped.

“I am as pure as they come!”

“I fucking doubt that.” Eddie scoffed and Richie shut him up by kissing him. They stayed like that for a long while, lazily kissing and humming in content into each other’s mouths. And when Richie pulled away, he could have sworn he heard Eddie let out a little whine.

“You looked beautiful tonight.” Richie whispered against his neck. “Absolutely breathtaking.”

“Go to sleep, you’re talking bullshit.” Eddie said, his body flushing in embarrassment. Richie grinned, kissing his throat.

“Utterly breathtaking.” Richie mumbled into Eddie’s soft skin, before both boys fell into the deepest sleep they had ever had. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been WAY too fucking long I'm sorry


	10. Happy Birthday

Eddie woke up at 10am on his 17th birthday, and it was all because Richie was snoring in his ear. He grunted, turning his head so he was nose to nose with him, and raised an eyebrow.

“Rich? Richie?” He whispered, prodding Richie’s stomach with his pointer finger. Richie whined, pushing Eddie’s hand away, and snuggled himself into Eddie’s neck and sighed. “Rich, you gotta wake up.” Eddie said softly, running his fingers through his hair.

“Don’t wanna.” He heard him mumble against his skin and Eddie smiled.

“My Mom is gonna come in and wake me up soon and if she catches you-”

“She’ll put my head on a spike and parade it around Derry, I know, I know.” Richie said before pressing a kiss to Eddie’s throat and pulling away so they could look into each other’s eyes. “Happy birthday, cutie.” Richie beamed and Eddie felt himself go warm and pink.

“Thank you.” He whispered and gently kissed Richie’s nose. It was still so strange, being so intimate with a boy in his bed, when not too long ago Eddie was reluctant to even admit his sexuality. He remembered snapping at Bev about it when she told him it was okay to like guys, and he cringed inwardly. He hated that he had been so ashamed of who he was, but he had moved past that now. He loved being in bed with Richie, holding his hand and hearing him sing and hanging out in the basement together when his Mother took her daily nap. 

It was the happiest he had been in years. 

“So, got any plans, birthday boy?” Richie asked after a little while of comfortable silence. Eddie just shrugged. “Well, I distinctly remember be promising to give you a proper boinking, make you a man.”

“You are vile!” Eddie hissed and shoved Richie away as the other giggled into the pillow. “And never refer to sex as boinking. It makes me want to stay a virgin forever.”

“Want me to call it something else? What about…adult nap time? No pants dance? Bedroom rodeo? Knocking boots? Moistening the-” Eddie slapped a hand over Richie’s mouth before he could continue.

“Finish that sentence and you die.” Eddie warned and Richie responded by gently licking his palm and making him squeal. “You’re fucking gross!”

“You luuuurve it.” Richie teased and peppered his face with soft kisses, making Eddie melt and wrap his arms around Richie’s shoulders.

“Ugh, stop it. I’m supposed to be annoyed.”

“Can’t resist me for long, huh?” Richie smirked against his forehead. He then felt brave, and started kissing down Eddie’s face, then his jaw, and onto his neck, making him sigh. 

“Rich…” He breathed out, gripping his shirt, before both of them froze at the sound of footsteps outside of Eddie’s door. “Shit, under the duvet!” Eddie whisper-yelled, and Richie dove behind Eddie’s body and under the mound of blankets just as Mrs Kaspbrak burst into the room with a cake and a huge grin.

“Good morning, Eddie-Bear! Happy birthday!” She exclaimed and Eddie smiled at her in a way he hoped and prayed was convincing enough.

I don’t have a boy in my bed, Mom. I wasn’t thinking of making out with him and he wasn’t kissing my neck. Nope. 

“Morning, Mama.” He said and she shuffled over, holding the small chocolate cake out to him, which he gladly took. Mrs K never really let Eddie eat anything sugary, keeping it all to herself instead, but every year for his birthday she went out of her way to bake him the same chocolate cake with strawberry icing on top spelling out his name and his age. He appreciated it, he really did, but the cake always tasted too dry, or too soggy, and once it was even burnt in a few places. 

“Go on, blow out your candles and make a wish, sweetheart!” She encouraged as Eddie stared down at the cake. He stared at the five candles in front of him, slowly dripping wax onto the frosting and he took a deep breath to blow them out. However, he felt Richie slowly shift from behind him and he almost squeaked when he felt his warm thumb stroke the base of his spine. 

Eddie shivered involuntarily, and his mother noticed. She frowned at him. “Are you cold, dear? The window isn’t open.” Eddie swallowed, Richie’s thumb rubbing circle against his spine. 

“I’m fine, Mom. Just excited for today!” He smiled a little too wide, but his Mother seemed to buy it, so he quickly closed his eyes, ignored Richie behind him, blew out his candles, and wished with everything he had. 

“Okay, now that that’s all done, you need to get showered and dressed! Everyone is coming over tonight for your birthday dinner, and I have an outfit picked out for you as well.” His mother rattled on and on as she took the cake away, placing it on Eddie’s desk and ignoring the way Eddie’s hand went under the covers to intertwine his fingers with Richie’s. Richie smiled into the mattress and bravely pressed a kiss to Eddie’s back, pulling up his Avengers shirt to do so. Eddie’s eyelashes fluttered. 

“Are you listening?” Eddie’s mother asked and Eddie snapped back to reality.

“Uh, yeah. Family’s coming over, gotta look presentable.”

“Good boy. Now, take your pills and shower. You have a couple of hours to spend time with your friends if you like before they arrive.” Eddie blinked at her.

“Really? I can go out?” Excitement filled his body, and he squeezed Richie’s hand. 

“Just this once, it’s your birthday. Even though all you’ve been doing is spending time outside, which I’m not too keen on.” She paused before sighing. “But…today you can do whatever you want until the others get here, okay?”

“Thank you, Mom!” Eddie cried, almost jumping out of bed to hug her, but remembered Richie was barely being hidden by his body as it is, so he stayed put.

“Now hurry up! You won’t have too long.” Sonia then gathered up the cake and walked out of his room, slamming the door behind her. Eddie let out a breath and then dived under the covers to tackle Richie.

In his two and a half hours of freedom, as Eddie called it, Richie took him to the only diner in Derry. It was in the centre of town, huge buildings lined up on either side that completely dwarfed the little diner. The Losers often went there after school or on Saturdays for lunch, and it was never very busy. 

It was a Sunday, so only a few people were sat inside when they arrived, and Richie wrapped an arm around Eddie’s shoulders as the waitress led them to their booth, right near one of the front windows, and allowed them to choose what they wanted for a few minutes as she served someone at the bar. 

“This place is snazzy.” Richie nodded, looking at the red and white leather seats, the huge 1950′s jukebox in the corner that was currently playing ‘I Got A Woman’, and the smell of fresh burgers.

“It’s the only cool place in Derry.” Eddie said, scanning the milkshake menu. “Besides the arcade, and the Aladdin.”

“The what now?” Richie perked up. Eddie looked at him and smirked.

“Did we not show you The Aladdin?” Richie shook his head. “It’s our movie theatre, it’s all neon inside and it has these old fashioned red velvet seats in the screens, it’s amazing.”

“You mean to tell me we’ve had a cinema this entire time and you never told me?!” Richie exclaimed, clutching at his shirt as if he were hurt. “My god, you are evil, how dare you keep such important information from me!”

“I just forget to mention it! Calm down, you drama queen.” Eddie chuckled, looking back at the menu and deciding on a strawberries and cream milkshake. “This milkshake is to die for!” He said, pointing it out to Richie. “What are you getting?”

“They don’t do shots, do they?” Richie asked, scanning the menu. Eddie rolled hie eyes.

“Hardy-har-har.” He replied dryly. “Now come on, pick a milkshake, I wanna order food.”

“Someone is bossy on their big day.” Richie winked and Eddie felt himself smile without thinking. 

“Only because I know you’ll do whatever I say.”

“Will I now? You seem so sure about that, sweetheart.” Richie said, leaning in slightly. 

“I’m sure because I’m right.” Eddie whispered, leaning in further, the two almost meeting in the middle of the table, until the waitress cleared her throat. They jumped apart and smiled sheepishly at her, but she only laughed and whipped her notepad out. 

“What’ll it be, boys?” Richie glanced at the menu again and then grinned up at her, showing off his teeth. 

“Give me the biggest burger you got!” Eddie stared at him.

“Rich-”

“And exactly the same for the little guy. Oh and a Nutella shake and a strawberries and cream shake, please. As well as onion rings, fries, and we might as well throw some mozzarella sticks in there, right Eds?” 

Eddie was stunned silent. The waitress however, just scribbled down everything Richie said, took their menus, and told them everything shouldn’t be too long to make. When she walked away, Richie leaned back in his seat and stretched. 

“Man, I’m starving.”

“No shit!” Eddie choked out. “You just ordered way too much food, Rich!”

“Way too much, or just enough?” He smirked and Eddie wanted to argue, but Richie beat him too it. “Look, I have money, remember? This is on me. Let me treat my birthday boy.” Eddie blushed.

My birthday boy.

“Fine. But my Mom is gonna be so pissed when I don’t eat all my dinner, tonight.”

“Eh, screw her.” Richie waved as hand dismissively. “She just wants to show you off like she does every year, right?” Eddie nodded, remembering the stories he had told Richie the other night about his past few birthdays. His family would come down, give him money, and Sonia would tell them about Eddie’s new school awards, the possibilities of college, how much he’s grown, how handsome he is. Everything except how he was actually doing. 

His aunts and uncles would ask him if he had a girlfriend, or if he was hoping to become valedictorian, or who he was taking to the prom, and Eddie would just politely smile and answer everything with a lie. 

“Yeah. Every single year.” Eddie said glumly, looking down at the table. He didn’t even look up and smile when his milkshake arrived. Richie noticed right away and frowned, then took hold of Eddie’s hand in his.

“Hey, it’ll be over before you know it.” He said softly, and Eddie finally looked up. “Then we can spend the night together, yeah? Watch old movies and stuff? Eat our weight in popcorn?” Eddie smiled, and so did Richie. “There’s my boy.”

When their food eventually arrived, both of them mostly ate in silence. Eddie sighing at how good it felt to eat junk food after so long, whereas Richie was just happy to be eating such a big meal. Usually he’d buy snack food instead of proper meals, because it was too risky to go upstairs into the Kaspbrak kitchen and actually cook anything, so a burger the size of his head and fries was exactly what he needed. 

Halfway through the meal, Eddie excused himself to go to the bathroom, kissing Richie on the cheek and grinning when he saw him blush, before rushing off and disappearing into the men’s room. Richie sighed, watching fondly as he left, before taking a glance around the diner once again. He took the 50′s aesthetic in, letting the music wash over him, the food settle in his stomach and the lights at the bar turning from red, to pink, to purple, to blue. 

He watched the waitress serve a boy around his age and hand him a Pepsi, and Richie took in his greasy blonde hair, grey beanie, and tattered clothing, with a duffel bag lying at his feet, and he felt his body freeze. He dropped his final piece of burger at the realisation that he knew that boy at the bar, and he stood up. 

“Scott?” His voice carried through the diner as he stepped closer, and the boy’s head snapped up, a scared expression on his face, but it vanished the moment he lay eyes on Richie. If anything, he looked annoyed to see him. 

“Jesus christ.” Scott muttered under his breath, before sipping his Pepsi and turning away, wishing the boy would go away. But this was Richie, and Richie never went away. He groaned to himself as the other boy took the bar stool beside him and bit his lip, wondering what to say.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Richie said quietly, so only Scott could hear him. “Long time no see, huh?”

“What are you doing here, Rich?” Scott asked tiredly, putting his drink down and staring at the TV mounted on the wall above the bar playing some old movie that Richie couldn’t remember the name of. 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Richie replied, folding his arms onto the bar and peering over at his old friend. Well, at least he used to think he was a friend. Then he abandoned him. “It’s been a while.”

“About a month.” Scott said, completely emotionless. He really didn’t want him here, but that wasn’t going to stop Richie from getting the answers he had been waiting to here since he had been left at the gas station.

“What are you doing in Derry?” He asked after a brief pause. “I thought we…you were all headed to California?” 

Scott scoffed, sipping his drink again. “Yeah, that was the fucking plan, at least. New job kinda put that little dream on hold, though.”

“New job? What do you do now?” Richie asked, genuinely curious. Scott just sighed at him.

“I deal. Not exactly the most glamorous of jobs, but it gets me gas and food. My truck is the only thing I have left, except for the dope. It keeps me alive, especially after…” He went quiet, and Richie frowned.

“What is it? What happened?” 

Scott glanced at him, giving Richie a dirty look. “Why do you care?” He spat, but keeping his voice low so he didn’t attract attention. 

“Because I think I deserve to hear what you three assholes have been up too since you dumped me on the side of the highway.” Richie retorted with venom in his voice. Scott went quiet at that. He unfortunately had a point. 

Scott sighed. “We didn’t dump you-”

“Drove off after I got out of the van, whatever you wanna call it.” Richie rolled his eyes. “You abandoned me there. At that gas station in the middle of nowhere. I could have died.”

“Looks like you survived.” Scott argued, looking him up and down. “Got yourself some fancy clothes too, and a boyfriend.” Richie blushed.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” I wish he was, Richie thought to himself. He still had yet to actually ask Eddie to be his boyfriend; so far the two just kissed, fell asleep in the same bed most nights, and hung out every single day. That was sort of like dating, right? Except it had no title.

“Guy friends don’t kiss each other on the fucking cheek.” Scott pointed out. “But whatever it is, you got something. So just leave me alone.” He tried to turn away but Richie grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Where are the others?” He asked, and he felt Scott tense. “Wes and Max, they here too?”

Scott took a while to reply, but he eventually shrugged Richie’s hand off and rubbed his face tiredly. “Max got arrested.” Richie’s eyes went wide.

“What? H-how?” 

Scott turned to him. “You know I always said I wanted to rob a bank?” Richie’s mouth dropped.

“You guys robbed a fucking bank?!” He exclaimed, and Scott shushed him before anyone could hear. Thankfully, no one seemed to care, so he just leaned forward so they could talk between themselves more easily. 

“Yes, we robbed a fucking bank. It was a week or so ago and…Wes and I managed to get in and get what we could before busting out of there but Max he…” Scott paused. “He wasn’t fast enough.”

“Christ…I’m sorry, man.” Richie said earnestly, earning him a scoff.

“No you’re not. You never cared about him, or me. Only Wes, because he was the leader who took you in.” Scott downed the rest of his drink and slammed the glass down. 

“That’s not true.” Richie said, glancing over at the men’s bathroom in case Eddie came out. He didn’t. He turned back to Scott with a serious expression. “What about Wes?” Scott grimaced.

“He left, took half the cash with him. Fucking prick. That money is mine. It was my fucking plan in the first place.”

“Do you know where he’s gone?”

“No, but if I find him, I’ll kill him.” Scott hissed, fist clenched and knuckles turning white.

Richie swallowed. “Scott…” He trailed off, waiting for his old road buddy to look at him again, and once he did, he took a deep breath. “Why did you guys leave me? Honestly. I want to know. I deserve to know.”

He expected Scott to be silent for a long time, to try and come up with some sort of answer that seemed worth hearing. Maybe even an apology. But Richie had always gotten his hopes up for people who just dragged them back down. 

“You have no fucking idea how difficult it is to travel with someone as annoying as you.” He answered almost instantly. Richie blinked, completely taken aback. That only seemed to rile Scott up more. “Jesus, I mean, all you did was fucking talk. Or do those dumb accents. Or just sing and laugh too loud or try to talk to us when all we wanted to do was fucking drive or sleep or get food and my god, we just wanted you to fucking shut up!”

“You left me there…because I annoyed you?” Richie asked quietly, ignoring the sound of men’s bathroom opening from somewhere behind him. Scott scoffed at him.

“Fuck, you really are as dumb as you look, aren’t you? I’m surprised Wes hadn’t planned it sooner.”

“You planned that?!” Richie snapped, making Scott jump. “You fucking planned to leave me there?!”

“Of course we fucking did!” He bit back. “You’re better out there anyway.“

“Better? Living on the street and being homeless? You think I’m better at that?” Richie stared at him, utterly dumbfounded, and Scott just shrugged.

“What else were you planning to do with your life? Go live in some fancy house with a big rich family like you did before? I don’t think so.” Something flashed through Scott’s eyes, and he leaned closer again. “Besides, I think we all remember how that turned out.” Richie’s blood ran cold and he stiffened in his seat. Scott grinned wickedly. “Yeah.” He said quietly. “You know what happened last time, so why put some poor family through that kind of trauma all over again?”

“I had no other choice, you know that.” Richie breathed, feeling tears well up in his eyes. His entire body was shaking, and he felt his heart speed up with every second. He hadn’t thought about that in a long, long time. Not now…he didn’t want to remember it now. 

“Keep telling yourself that, Rich.” Scott said, standing up and smoothing out his old, wrinkled coat. He turned to leave, but Richie spoke up before he could move.

“You know that’s in the past! I have a life now.” He said firmly, hoping his voice sounded as strong as he wanted it to be. “I found people who give a shit about me. Treat me like a person, not some waste of space.” Scott turned to him and looked him up and down, then moved closer so he was right in his face.

“If you think dressing in clean clothes and having friends makes you a good person, then you need to get your head out of your ass.” He said slowly. Richie swallowed again, and looked at the floor, giving in. “You know what you are, Richie? You’re a stray dog. A stray dog just trying to find an owner that doesn’t want you.” Tears threatened to spill down Richie’s cheeks and he begged his body not to let them fall. Scott couldn’t see him weak, not again. “You’re a wild animal, kid. Not a house pet. So stop pretending to be one.” And with that, Scott walked out of the diner and left Richie alone at the bar, heart pounding and breathing heavy. He watched Scott get into his truck that was across the street, and slowly drive off and out of sight, and he felt like throwing up. That was the same truck he used to live in not too long ago…

“Richie?” He jumped at the sound of Eddie’s voice and swivelled round to see him standing there looking at him with a worried expression. “Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah, of course Eds!” Richie threw on his best fake smile and jumped from the bar stool. “You all done eating?”

“Yeah, I just…who was that?” Eddie asked, nodding at the door. Richie waved his hand casually.

“An old friend, a guy I used to travel with, you know?” Eddie hesitated but nodded slowly.

“Right. What did he want?”

“Nothing! Just had a catch up. You ready to pay and skedaddle?” Richie asked, hoping Eddie would just drop it and let them leave. Thankfully, Eddie looked too tired to keep up with the conversation and just smiled, nodding and pressing a kiss to Richie’s shoulder before dragging him to the table to leave some bills and a tip for the waitress, calling out a thanks to her before both of them walking out into the warm afternoon air. 

“We should hurry.” Eddie said sadly, letting go of Richie’s hand as soon as they were outside. “Mom will get annoyed if I’m not home before everyone arrives.” 

“Alrighty, let’s go birthday boy!” Richie sang and bowed, pointing his hand in the direction of home, making Eddie laugh. Eddie walked a few steps ahead of him, humming a tune Richie recognised to be ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy’, and he grinned, but then stopped mid step. Eddie noticed and turned, frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Richie glanced back at the bar, and looked at the stool he had been sat on. That’s when he noticed it. Richie gulped, but then put on an act of groaning over dramatically and slapping his forehead. 

“Shit! I left my phone on the seat!” He lied. “You go home, honey bun, I’ll see you after the party, yeah?” 

“What? I didn’t see it. Let me help you-”

Richie gave him a pointed look. “You said so yourself, babe! You’re gonna get your ass kicked if you’re late.” 

Eddie opened his mouth to protest, but Richie bounded up to him and kissed him right on the mouth to hush him. Eddie squeaked at first before quickly getting into it, but it was all over too soon and he pouted.

“Plenty more where that came from, sugar.” Richie winked and Eddie smiled and nodded.

“Okay. Get home safe.” He said, kissing Richie one last time before hurrying off down the street towards his house, and Richie let out a breath. He licked his lips and made his way back into the diner and looking around to make sure no one was watching him. 

He calmly walked over to the bar and bent down, running his hand over the handle of the duffel bag. It had been at Scott’s feet the entire time, and the idiot had completely forgotten about it. Richie was picking up the bag without even thinking and marching straight back out of the diner, walking halfway down the block before ducking into an alley and dropping to a crouch. He balanced the bag on his knees and unzipped it, yanking it open and freezing at what he saw.

The entire bag was filled to the brim with wads of cash, and Richie felt his jaw drop as he read $1,000 on each label. He counted them, shuffling them about a bit before he came to a final number. 25.

“Holy shit.” He breathed, then quickly zipped the bag back up as a couple kids walked by, thankfully not noticing him. Richie smirked and threw the bag over his shoulder before stuffing a hand into his pocket and pulling out his phone, knowing it had never been left behind at all, and plugged in the pair of headphones Eddie gave him, letting ‘Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked’ blare through the ear buds. 

“I’ll show you a fucking stray dog.” He muttered before walking back out onto the street, this time with a skip in his step, and $25,000 dollars over his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK! Oh god it's been so damn long, almost half a year, but I'm back with this story and better than ever. I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting, but I hope it was worth it because this story is going to REALLY start kicking off now.   
> I've missed writing so much, and now I have no more setbacks or writers block so I'm fucking ready to get these chapters out.   
> Thank you all so much for the comments and support, it means the world <3


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